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	Alex Reynard's
	WAR IS PEACE

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--Chapter Eleven--


Cody lay sprawled on his back in the little cube room for quite a long time. Just breathing. Feeling the morning sun on his face and chest. He was dizzy from excitement. It seemed impossible he'd done what he'd just done. But he had. And it had all happened so fast!

From out amongst the trees, Cody heard a sudden wail of pain.

It was definitely Rick. Cody imagined that the elk must have called for backup a moment ago and now someone was trying to help him stand up. Maybe he'd broken the guy's knee. Maybe Rick would have to sit in a wheelchair for a while.

Cody shut his eyes tight and tried not to think about that. It wasn't his fault. This whole camp was a prison and Rick was just another guard. It was unfortunate that, of all the people Cody could have run into, it had to be him. But that's all it was. Unfortunate.

'Good thing it wasn't Gilda,' he thought. 'If I'd tried that on her, my foot would've shattered.'

It would've been great if it'd been Guy though. Hear that mouthy fox wailing and crying instead. Or that lioness bitch who'd kidnapped him! Cody couldn't even remember her name. Geena? Trina? Didn't matter. It would've been great to kick her to the ground. 'Yeah. Take that. That's for scooping us all up and taking us to your damn reeducation camp.'

Of course, the thought of education made him think of Vera. And that caused a strange duality inside him. The rage part of him simply hated her. He wanted to smack her in the back of the head with a shovel. But another part... He had to admit she seemed sincere. And she was at least nice and polite. She was pretty much just doing her job.

Still, her job was to undermine everything he knew about his society, his government and his genus. Cody was not exactly inclined to be forgiving about that. He didn't like the disrespect of being lied to even once. Much less day after day for hours on end.

His stomach gurgled. 'Oh right. I was able to do all this because I skipped breakfast.'

He knew he really ought to have conserved his resources more, but it'd been yesterday evening when he last ate (and he'd barely scratched the surface of his dinner). Cody selected two granola bars, a bag of corn chips, one water and one OJ. A decent little meal, with plenty left for later.

Ohhhh, that water felt GOOOD! He slugged down half the bottle in two big swallows. He even splashed a little in his hair to feel it trickling down through his hot fur. He finished the whole bottle in moments. 'I earned this.'

He thought about the Newbrain chair as he unwrapped the first granola bar. He grinned. That silver fluid spilled all over the floor was a beautiful thing. 'That crap would've been pumped into someone's head if it wasn't for you,' he congratulated himself. He imagined Vera coming to class that day and shrieking in grief! "Oh no! I can't brainwash anyone today!" Cody cracked up. He'd actually done her voice pretty well.

The chips were salty and made him want to down his juice with the same speed as the water. But he held back. If he did that he'd just want to drink more. He knew it'd get hotter in the afternoon. Plus, with nothing to do up here but read, the day would feel twice as long.

Plus, he had no idea *how* long he'd be up here.

How long *could* he be up here?

He decided to do a bit of math. He swept some pine needles off a section of floor and dumped out his shirtbag. His book fell out on top. 'Oh right, I can finish that now!' Sweet.

'Okay, let's see...' He'd managed to snag five water bottles (counting the one he'd finished), two orange juices, eight granola bars, three chocolate bars, a pack of fruit gummies, four things of cheese-n-crackers and some spearmint gum. 'Blecch. Hate spearmint.' He was just about to chuck it over the side of the tower and send it flying off into the trees, but then he reconsidered. If it landed somewhere visible, it might give his position away. And who knew? He might eventually get so desperate that he'd end up chewing the stuff.

So, ignoring the gum for now, if he let breakfast be his biggest indulgence and restricted his meals to one liquid and two food items from now on, that meant he had enough for seven little meals with two snacks left over. Awesome. He could stay up here for days!

Quite happy, Cody picked up his book and was about to start reading. But then he reconsidered again. It'd be better to finish eating, then read. He'd be spending a lot of time up here, and multitasking would not be helpful. So he took his time. Chewed every chip. Let his mind wander as he finished the first granola bar and started on the other.

Granola sounded like Yola. He remembered Hydra's outburst about wanting to move to the private bunk. How Tycho had chosen to stay with the others. Cody guessed Yolanda might stay behind too. Though it was hard to guess. Yola spent so much time silent it was hard to predict her. Cody also thought of Hydra perking up at the idea of a new uniform. And Tycho had again denied that perk. Would Yolanda? Cody suddenly imagined the ottergirl in the same kind of outfit as that lion lady. 'Whoa...' Okay, that mental image was kinda hot but also ridiculous. What about a GPA outfit more like Vera's? Oh, yeah. Definitely more plausible. He could totally see Yola in a tightly tailored olive green uniform. One that really hugged her butt...

He squeezed his eyes shut and felt like punching his brain. 'No! Bad Cody! That is NOT sexy! Stop getting turned on by your classmate wearing the clothing of a murderer, okay!?'

'Murderers or not, you gotta admit their costume-designey people know what they're doing,' he counter-argued. And he had to agree with himself on that.

He finished breakfast amid other equally unimportant musings and then tried to figure out what to do with his garbage. Tossing it over the side would be like launching a signal beacon: 'INSURGENT HIDING HERE'. For now, he wadded all the wrappers up inside the two bottles and kicked them into the corner.

Before settling down with his book, Cody thought it might not be a bad idea to take a look around camp. See if they already had search parties out canvassing the grounds for him.

He rolled over onto his knees and peered up over the lip of the tower's wall.

Calm as usual. Not many people visible. Some Preykids were eating breakfast outside on the grass. A small bunch of Preds were playing dice or cards in the bleachers by the athletic field. He spotted a couple GPA members, though they didn't seem to be on the hunt. Just what he assumed was their normal patrol route.

Hmph. He felt a little insulted.

Of course, feeling a little insulted was a lot better than looking down the forest path and seeing that hyena guy leading a pack of nonev rottweilers straight towards him.

That guy *must* have reported what Cody had done in the classroom by now. So why *weren't* search parties combing the area for him? Maybe no one had connected the broken Newbrain chair to the vending machine vandalism to what he'd done to poor wrong-place-wrong-time Rick. They'd connect it eventually, Cody knew. The Preds were stupid about a lot of things, but they weren't drooling imbeciles. Missing camper + smashed snacks + destroyed Newbrain chair + kick in the knee = we got us an escapee.

A brilliant thought occurred to him then. If they thought he'd escaped, the first places they'd look would be anywhere in camp where their security was weak. Holy shit! All he'd have to do was periodically keep an eye on the camp and watch where the GPAs started searching! If there was a hole in the wiredome, they'd lead him right to it!

He'd have to keep popping his head up over the side to check though. Like a whack-a-chipmunk game. He let his eyes wander over the old, worn wooden structure he was seated in. 'Or maybe not...' He skootched himself closer to the east wall. The boards were slightly warped by rain and seasonal swelling. If he got up close enough, it was easy to peek through the cracks in the boards.

It was settled then. He'd read his books to pass the time, making sure to periodically check the cracks to see if anything interesting was happening. If it was, he could look over the side for a clearer view.

'Sounds a hell of a lot better than whatever I'd be doing in class today,' he thought with a smirk. He settled into a relatively comfy position and prepared to finish last night's story.


*****


He didn't have far to go. Only a chapter and a half. He made a rule to himself to check through the cracks each time he got to the end of a chapter. At *least*. Once the Preds started looking for him, things would happen very quickly. He had a pretty strong hope they wouldn't think any of their kidnapees knew about the observation tower. If they didn't check it in the first hour or so, Cody had a gut feeling he'd be relatively safe. 'And if they do start trying to climb up here, I can bean them in the head with water bottles.'

Breakfast ended. Cody heard the noise increase when Preykids and Predkids swarmed out of their cafeterias to head over to their classrooms. He made a game of trying to locate his various classmates. There was Tycho. 'Round targets are easy to spot', he chuckled. Jayden seemed to be really excited, talking to two of his friends. Then Kenny's ears went by. He certainly didn't look like a happy bunny today. Cody felt a small pang of regret. He'd kinda been an asshole to his friend again, hadn't he? Now here he was, gone missing, and Kenny had no idea why. 'Sorry, amigo,' Cody sent out.

He tried to figure out where this luxurious private bunk was that had lured Hydra away and- Holy What The Fucks!? Speaking of Hydra Kensington, there she was!! She had double the usual crowd orbiting her today, mostly boys. Likely having to do with the fact that the bunnygirl's brand new GPA uniform hands-down won the gold prize for jaw-dropping, pants-tightening craziness. It looked like someone had slathered black housepaint in long, diagonal swatches all over her. Cody couldn't tell if it was leather or rubber or what, but it was something shiny and *tight*. She also had a black cap, pointy boots and shimmering pink gloves. She strutted like a fashion model. And was she wearing black lipstick too? Damn, if she'd designed that outfit herself, her mind was more impressively warped than Cody had given her credit for.

Chloe-Sophia bounced along behind her heroine, naturally. She had a new uniform too, but it was far less... whatever the hell Hydra's was. The squirrel had a cute skirt and a vest-thing, with delicate little shoes and a military-style hat. It looked suitably lackey-like. Hydra might've designed that too.

Cody leaned on the railing and *almost* wished he'd come to class today to see those outfits up close. 'Bravo, Miss Kensington. You have successfully made yourself the center of attention again. You've earned it.'

He noticed Mason and Scott run up and join her. She started talking amiably with them. Apparently they'd grown closer since they all defected. Cody realized he'd hardly thought about the deer and the mouse for a while now. They both had new uniforms too, but they were simple, like Vera's. Though Scott did have a big hat.

And hey, there was Frank. The zebragirl was hard to miss, streaking down the path like she was in a relay race. Cody winced a little when he saw her. He didn't feel sorry for running her 'boyfriend' off, but he wasn't exactly proud of how he'd done it.

He'd thought Frank was racing to get to class early, or just for the sake of running. But no; she zoomed right past the class building. Cody perked up. Where was she heading?

Past the center of camp, down towards the woodsy area...

Was she heading towards the tower!?

No, impossible! How the fuck could she possibly know where he was!? The chipmunk had a brief freakout as he watched the zebress heading like an arrow straight toward his location. But then he sighed with relief when she suddenly made a sharp turn.

'Oh. Okay. Yeah, she couldn't possibly have known where I was. So where's she...'

Her destination became clear. The Predside.

'No,' Cody thought. 'Don't you fucking do it.'

The zebragirl headed for the Predkids' cafeteria and started dashing around in a zig-zag, asking random Preds questions. Cody knew what she was doing now, and there was the proof of it. She'd spotted him; her fucking boyfriend. Frank ran over to where the maned wolf guy was walking towards his classroom.

Cody dug his claws into the wood railing.

There was too much distance and ambient noise to tell what they were saying to each other, but the content of the conversation was clear. Frank pled. The wolf guy looked unsure. She took his paws in hers. They moved closer and talked in little tidbit-words. And then they hugged. Cody wanted to scream.

'Screw her! Screw that genus-traitor!' Cody guessed he hadn't made his message to her clear enough, because she wasn't scared off. In fact, he might have actually strengthened her little crush. FUCK!

Cody slumped down behind the wall and held his head in his hands. 'Damn it, damn it, damn it...' This wasn't fair. It wasn't right. Frank was supposed to be one of the holdouts. Frank was supposed to stay strong and reject the Preds even when nobody else would. How the hell could she do this to him!? Cody pounded on the floor with his fist, then immediately regretted it in case anyone had heard the noise.

He peered through a crack between boards. He didn't see anyone around for quite a distance. That was good. It meant he could make at least a little noise up here and not get immediately noticed.

His eyes happened to fall on the archery range, and for a brief moment his cheeks flashed hot as he realized how incredibly brainless he was for not trying to grab a bow and bring it up here.

But, no. His rational side quickly brushed away that idea. The storage shed was locked. Trying to get it open would have wasted enough time for the Preds to catch up with him. Plus, he knew he was good with a bow, but good enough to hit a moving target from this height? Un-fucking-likely. Plus, who would he aim for? PLUS, there was the fact that even if he *did* get a hit, it'd more than likely give away his position, and a miss would give away his position for nothing. Arrows were a big no.

He felt an intense need to destroy something though. So he grabbed the empty OJ bottle and squeezed it till his claws poked through the plastic. He imagined it was that wolf guy's face. He wished he'd done more than just yell at him last night. Maybe break some of his fingers. Kick him in the nuts. Grab a pocketknife and carve off his tail. 'That'd make a nice trophy,' he thought.

Cody's Dad had three tails up on the wall at home. He would've had even more if the military didn't enforce that stupid policy of not letting soldiers take trophies from their kills.

Cody guessed it was to keep people from just mowing down civilians and snipping off tails like dandelions. That made sense, he supposed. Dad said he had to work with some guys who would've sprayed an orphanage with machine gun fire, then claimed the tails were from enemy snipers.

Still, Dad had his three from before he'd even joined. Back when Grandpa was alive, he and Dad would drive out to the border and set up camp. While some hunters crossed the Fence into Pred territory and just shot at anything they saw, Grandpa believed that wasn't sporting. You camped out near a weak spot in the Fence and you waited. Most nights you went home empty-handed. But sometimes you saw a shadow sneaking close, and you waited until it set foot on Prey territory, then BLAM. Grandpa had seventeen tails on his wall.

Cody wondered if, at the end of his adventure, he'd have any tails to bring home to Dad. 'Probably not,' he admitted. His top priority was getting the hell out of here. Taking the time to find a knife and cut off a tail would be unwise. Not to mention that carrying a bloody appendage would leave a scent trail almost anyone could follow.

Though overall, it didn't really matter. If he ended up doing anything to deserve a trophy, and he told Dad he just hadn't been able to take it with him, Dad would believe him.

Cody took a moment to look around the camp again. All the kids had gone inside to class. The only people he saw were GPA guards. One of them on the Predside, a skunk, Cody caught scratching his ass. The chipmunk enjoyed a laugh.

He looked towards the corner and saw the four books arranged carefully there. 'Might as well get started. I've got the whole damn day ahead of me.'


*****


Cody read for as long as he could stand. Eventually his legs got restless and he needed to get up and stretch. He eyed his shirtbag, feeling a bit hungry again. 'No. Too soon.'

He did some more stretching exercises. He did pull-ups hanging onto the ceiling beams. He contemplated seeing whether or not he was acrobatic enough to make it up onto the roof. That idea was quickly nixed. One; if he failed he'd fall and go splat. Two; even if he succeeded, he'd make himself highly visible for no good reason.

Cody scanned the camp periodically, though he never saw anything more interesting than the GPAs just walking around like usual. He was beginning to wonder if they'd even noticed his little rampage.

That thought was put to rest at the end of first class. Just as the kids were being let out from their classrooms, the four loudspeakers in the center of camp started talking. "This is a special announcement. This is a special announcement. A boy named Cody St. John is missing. He is a chipmunk, fifteen years old. If anyone has seen him or knows where he might be, please tell a staff member."

Cody waited for there to be more. Like, 'He is wanted for malicious destruction of property', or maybe even 'Shoot on sight'. But no, that was it.

'Allright, you clever bastards, I see what you did there. You're trying to keep it quiet about all the stuff I did. You don't want to make a hero out of me. So instead of 'Cody trashed that brainwashing chair we've been trying to get you to sit in', the story is, 'Some kid got himself lost'.' Dishonest as fuck, but clever.

He watched the kids milling about down below. He looked for Kenny's ears, hoping to see how he'd been affected by the announcement, but he couldn't spot his friend anywhere.

He did see Walter though. And even though he was clear across camp, Cody could have swore that little bastard was smiling. 'Eat shit,' Cody thought at him. That smug little turd was probably elated to hear the announcement. He probably thought Cody was off in the woods, crying and cutting his wrists over the snappy comeback he'd been handed. 'You'll find out exactly what my response is the next time I see you.' And it'd be even better then, because the kittycat wouldn't see it coming.

Cody knew bobcats had stubby little tails, but man, would Walter's look good mounted right above his bed. He grinned at that image.

Vera's would make a good trophy too. And he could dust the furniture with it.

That got him laughing so hard he had to sit down for a while.


*****


The book he was halfway through now wasn't anywhere near as good as the first two. It was a historical fiction tale, set in the years after the change from humans to furkind. Cody was kind of miffed. He could almost hear the author's voice describing events in a dull monotone. This had been a hell of a time period, worthy of a much better storyteller. It had been the bloodiest age in history. The time directly after humanity, when people had gone fucking insane after suddenly finding themselves unwillingly inhabiting a new species' skin. It had been as close as the planet had ever come to a post-apocalyptic sci-fi movie. Riots covered the globe. It had taken *decades* to get society functioning normally again. And a big part of that reconstruction was the distinction being made between Predator and Prey. Before, everyone had just been fighting each other randomly. But once that line was drawn, suddenly people had clearly-defined enemies. And more importantly, allies. Being able to trust your neighbor because he was the same genus as you was the turning point that had allowed civilization to return.

This author was really taking a crap on all that. The book's plot was a plain, standard story about a rabbit guy crossing the country to find his lost lover, encountering all sorts of transparently allegorical set-pieces along the way. It was all designed to preach morals instead of telling what had really happened to real people. If it wasn't for staving off boredom, Cody would have considered ripping the pages out and teaching himself origami.

Sounds of Preds and Prey hovered in the background the whole time he was reading. Kids running around shouting, having fun. At times it was easy to believe the illusion that this was a normal summer camp.

Soon the chime rang for lunchtime. Cody was glad for a reprieve from his boring book. He peered through the cracks and watched everyone on both sides of camp converging on the cafeterias. Then he opened up his shirtbag and rustled around inside.

Lunch was not as pleasant as breakfast. Lukewarm water and crackers is not exactly gourmet dining. A chocolate bar for dessert helped though. Cody also decided to open up the fruit gummies. If he rationed them carefully, the little bag would last for quite a while. Artificial cherry flavor melted over his tongue.

As he finished, he wondered what everyone else was eating. He wondered how many Preykids had accepted Pred Helper armbands, or full GPA membership, and if those two extra lunch lines were starting to get crowded.

Cody continued reading through the rest of lunch hour, on into the beginning of second class. He finished the historical novel, grimaced at the entirely-predictable ending, and tossed it in a corner. He grabbed another book. This one was about a hospital robbery, a hostage situation and a girl with a bonesaw. Hopefully more exciting.

Cody remembered to keep checking the camp as he read. Still no search parties. Unless they were being fantastically sneaky and having individual Preds look around without *looking* like they were looking around, it seemed like they just didn't care if they found him or not. It boggled his mind. The more time passed without anything happening, the more Cody felt a creeping sense of dread. They couldn't be just doing nothing, right? He worried that whatever they were planning, it might catch him completely off-guard. He'd be reading along one second, and the next he'd be caught up in a net. Or jabbed with a tazer. Or stuck with a tranq dart. He'd just have to be more alert, he decided.

As second class neared its end, Cody was getting so wrapped up in his book he'd forgotten to check on the cracks a couple of times. The main character was currently crouched down in a burning operating room, trying not to be found by a blinded, chaotically-shooting bad guy. Cody was so into the story it took him several seconds to recognize the sound of helicopter blades.

Then his head popped up and he spun around like he was spring-loaded.

Heart pumping in his chest, he scanned the sky until he saw the little white dot approaching from beyond the treeline. When he'd first recognized the helicopter sound, he'd thought it might be the bigass troop transport he'd been kidnapped in. That might've offered a chance at escape. That is, if he had the balls to try clinging onto its landing gear as it departed. He honestly wasn't sure if he could go through with that or not.

But no, this one was just a baby. It looked like a big white baseball with a tail and a swirly top. Probably only room for two or three passengers. There was no way he could stow away on that thing without someone noticing. Cody relaxed his deathgrip on the tower's edge as his excitement soured into disappointment.

He still kept an unwavering eye on the little craft as it came closer. For starters, he wanted to know who the hell was in it. And also, how the hell was it going to get through the wiredome? He'd been wondering about that in the back of his mind ever since his arrival. The transport chopper hadn't teleported through. If there was a way in and out, it might be exploitable.

Cody's attention was pulled away by movement on the ground. Looking like ants pouring from their hill, his fellow members of K Group left their classroom, led by Miss Vera, to watch the helicopter land. Cody tilted his head. What did they have to do with whoever was inside it?

A moment later his question about the wiredome was answered. Six pie-slice sections at the very top of the dome unlocked with an echoing clang and slowly peeled themselves backwards, making an entry hole in the center. 'Well, I'm not getting out *that* way,' Cody thought with a grunt of frustration. 'Not unless I find a grappling gun lying around.'

The pie-panels didn't close up again as the little helicopter descended; Cody guessed they might be taking off shortly. His guess was right. It landed just barely long enough for one GPA member to hop off, escorting a handcuffed special guest. The copter pilot shot back up immediately afterwards. Cody couldn't help but wonder if it was due to all the weight he'd suddenly offloaded.

Cody suddenly understood exactly why the GPA had flown in this man specifically, and why Vera had brought her students out to greet him. Standing there in the middle of camp, quite obviously swearing his face red, was Prey Vice President Andrew Denton.

Even from so far away, Cody knew it was him with a single glance. President Kincaid was a slender fella, but his VP was a freakin' wall. The otter looked as wide as he was tall, half fat and half muscle. Simply big all over.

And up till now, he had been one of the remaining leaders of Prey society. If the Great Predator Army had him, things had gone from 'not good' to 'completely fucked'. Cody didn't even know at this point who was left in line to succeed him.

All this went through Cody's mind in an instant. About as long as it took Yolanda Denton to let out an unrestrained shriek of joy and run towards her daddy.

Cody had been correct: Yola had picked out a brand new GPA uniform. And it was conservative like Vera's, also as predicted. A simple black military uniform with a standard hat and armband, but very nicely tailored.

When the vice president saw her, Cody saw his wince all the way up in the tower. The man winced with his entire body.

Cody saw Yolanda stop in her tracks, seemingly trying to explain herself to him.

Then he hauled off and backhanded her into the dirt.

'You son of a bitch!!' Cody screamed in his mind.

He understood the man's anger. He understood it perfectly. To see your daughter willingly dressed in the garb of your greatest enemy cannot be a pleasant experience. But that was no excuse for a grown man hitting his child.

Vera and several classmates were already rushing to help Yola up. Cody could see how wide with heartbreak her eyes were. Jayden found where her glasses had fallen and cleaned them off with the edge of his shirt. She gave him a grateful nod as she put them back on.

The GPA soldier standing next to Mr. Denton gave him a shove and barked scornfully at him. He was too well-trained to swing back and deck his captive though.

Hydra Kensington, on the other hand, didn't give a shit.

Cody could not believe he was seeing this. Hydra actually managed to run in that clown costume of hers. She circled around, aligning herself directly behind the vice president, then _charged_.

With one big bunnyfoot clad in a leather boot, she literally kicked his ass.

Andrew Denton faceplanted. The man who had been carrying the entire nation for the past few weeks went sprawling, arms-flailing. He pushed himself up a second later, spitting sand out of his mouth.

Hydra stood behind him, radiating fury.

Cody couldn't make out what she said to him then, but from just the inflection, it was clear she was righteously pissed-off.

As the soldier helped Mr. Denton to his feet, Hydra (Chloe-Sophia joining her side), trotted over to Yolanda to give her a quick comforting hug. Yolanda looked rather stunned by everything that had just happened to her in the last few seconds.

Chloe continued to comfort Yola while Hydra turned back around to glare venomously at Mr. Denton. Vera said some things to him then also. He seemed defiant at first, then showed a small bit of shame. 'She's probably telling him the same thing I thought,' Cody guessed. 'Uniform or not, you don't ever hit your kid.'

Cody thought about what his own father would have done if it'd been him discovering Cody wearing the enemy's uniform. He knew Dad would never hit him; he'd promised many times. But he'd probably give Cody a look of disappointment that'd stay with him his entire life. One that would be far more painful and permanent than an impulsive, angry slap.

Now Yolanda was cautiously walking towards her father, rubbing her cheek from where he'd hit her. She was talking to him, quietly it seemed. The man ran his hands through his thick black hair several times, seemingly trying to get his composure back like this was a bad press conference he was trying to salvage. Yolanda talked with him a bit more, then he finally said something back. It must have been an apology of some sort, because Yolanda nodded to him and stepped closer for a short, tentative hug.

The large otter stood there looking torn and confused and helpless for quite a while, before shouting an angry question at the soldier beside him. The soldier answered, then gave the man's arm a tug and began leading him towards the bunkhouses. Yolanda didn't go with him. Instead, Vera led her away in the opposite direction. The vixen held the ottergirl's hand and spoke too softly for Cody to overhear. Hydra, Chloe and the other Preykids followed behind.

It took a moment for Cody to come back to himself.

He didn't know what to think about what he'd just seen, but his emotions didn't care about his thoughts and dozens of them banged in conflict against his heart. Seeing Yola's dad smack her like that... He'd wanted to leap down from the tower, run over and belt the sonofabitch himself. He had a newfound respect for Hydra. She wasn't just a diva it seemed, but a literal ass-kicker too. Cody found himself really hoping that Mr. Denton had just hit Yola out of shock. A momentary lapse in conscience. He hoped he and Yolanda would be able to reconcile. As much as Cody empathized with the man's outrage at seeing his daughter wearing that red armband, he couldn't imagine much worse than a father and child losing each other.

The chipmunk boy sunk to his knees and leaned against the side of the tower. He rested his head on his crossed arms. He had so much to think about. Beyond the miniature family drama he had just witnessed, there was the bigger picture to consider. His enemy had captured the Prey's top leader. Twice now. Cody didn't know if the country could hold together after that. He knew what a morale killer it would be. People would panic. And people consumed by fear are easily led.

Cody had not allowed himself to consider the possibility until now. But things had changed. He had to start thinking about what might happen if the Great Predator Army actually won.


*****


The camp was louder than usual as the rest of the Prey and Predkids left their classes. Word had obviously gotten around about the vice president's enforced visit. And judging by some of the inflections Cody overheard, Mr. Denton's slap was common knowledge too. Cody couldn't make out anyone's exact words, but body language came through clear. There was just as much disbelief, anger and worry on the ground as there was up in the observation tower.

Cody had tried to go back to reading, but the words on the page were alphabet soup. His mind was racing. Swirling. All sorts of clashing ideas, worries, rejected plans, nightmares, hopes, predictions. None of it useful. It was just his brain panicking in random directions over this new development.

Things might not be so bad. It was possible. For all Cody knew, the Prey might have a new, better leader already. Maybe the guy next in line would be one of the military commanders. Someone who'd order more strikes against the Preds until the GPA threat was finally wiped out. Maybe the Preys had even let the VP get captured as part of an overall plan. Maybe Mr. Denton had a tracer on him.

Or maybe Yolanda's Newbrain was activating right now and she was standing directly behind her father, ready to sink a razor into his neck.

There was no way to know.

At least, not yet. Not unless he did some recon.

Cody began to actually consider the possibility of leaving the tower.

His body vigorously applauded that idea. The observation platform was safe, but not cozy. His legs had been craving exercise after hours of just sitting. Not to mention it was dull as purgatory up here. It was only two P.M. and he already felt like he'd spent half a week up here.

If he did go down and scout around for information, would he be able to get back to the tower without being seen? Cody was mostly confident he could do some spying without being caught by the Preds. But if he fucked up, he'd lead them right back to his one hiding spot, and then it'd be permanently compromised.

No. As much as he wanted to know more about what was going on, the smarter strategy was to stay put. If he could just be patient and wait for that gate in the wiredome to open, he could get the hell out of here and find out what was going on from the outside.

He had plenty of food left, but his reading material was diminishing. Eventually he was going to find himself sitting on his ass with nothing to do but try to keep his brain from scaring itself to death.

The hot afternoon sun sent tiny waterfalls of sweat running through his fur. It was too hot to think clearly.

'Maybe I could just take a nap for a while,' Cody thought.

Part of him rejected that idea outright. Lowering his guard might get him killed. But his practical side told his G.I. Joe side to shut up. 'They should have found me by now. Period. If they were going to, they would have already done it. Taking some time to relax isn't going to change much. Either they'll suddenly get smarter or they won't. And I'll hear them coming even if they do find me. They'll have to climb up the side just like I did. I'll sure as hell feel everything vibrating if they try that.'

He smiled at the sudden mental image of a GPA Pred climbing up over the side of the observation platform, and him planting a perfectly-timed chipmunk foot kick to the face to send the guy plummeting down to the unforgiving concrete below.

Cody gave the hard, slightly warped floorboards a feel. 'Plus, I'm not likely gonna get any *good* sleep on this stuff. Probly just a catnap. I'll be awake again soon enough.'

It was hard to go against his gut like this, but his rational side was making nothing but good points.

Cody slid himself down to the floor and tucked his arm under his head. He skootched backwards until he was tucked somewhat comfortably into a corner.

He allowed himself to close his eyes. For a while he focused all his attention on his ears. Listening for anything. He heard bird noises. Airy bits of faraway conversation. The breeze running its fingers through the pine tree limbs...

Cody felt himself relaxing. There was a bit more shade in his corner. Just enough to turn the sunshine from a low burning irritation to a cozy warmth. Cody listened to his breathing.

As he let his tension recede, he felt a clutch of sadness. Now that he wasn't thinking anymore about escape maneuvers and enemy plots, his heart had time to remind him of all the pain it was going through. How alone he felt. How every hour of missing his Dad hurt worse than the previous one. Cody almost wanted to give up on the nap and go back to worrying about what the Preds were doing, because at least that was a distraction from his emotions.

But... part of him wanted to feel them. It was wearying having them poke at him from the background all the time. He wanted to just give in now and let them have their say. He was safe here. As safe as he was likely to get. No one else was around.

Cody felt the first tears arrive. He let them bring more.

He allowed his inner self to make its voice heard. It was the voice of a far younger chipmunk. A little boy who felt lost and alone. And _scared_. Terrified. Worse than terrified. There wasn't words for this kind of fear. Dread, maybe. The endless, unstoppable fear that he'd never feel his father's fur again. He'd never get to help Aunt Cherise cook in her kitchen again. He'd never hear their voices ever, ever, ever again. Because he was just a little boy trapped in a prison made by monsters. And they were going to eat him. He'd evaded them so far, but it was impossible to keep it up forever. Eventually they'd find him, and they would eat him. Tear the flesh from his skeleton and EAT him.

'Dad, help me,' Cody thought. 'I need you so bad. I can't do this anymore. I'm so scared all the time, no matter how much I try to force myself not to be. It's always there in the pit of my stomach. I just want to see you again. I'll do anything. Please, Dad. I don't know what to do.'

Cody cried as quietly as it was possible for a boy to cry. He let his thoughts plead and ramble until they started falling apart, becoming meaningless. Sleep swirled in. Fuzziness descended over his thoughts.

As the birds chirped and the trees rustled and the sun kept him warm, Cody fell fast into darkness. It was a relief.


*****


Cody awoke, many hours later, to the sound of muffled music.

He peeled his eyes open. He stretched the arm he'd been using for a pillow and groaned at the stiff, piercing pain in his elbow. His whole hand was numb too. It felt like a rubber glove full of oatmeal.

Dragging himself up into a sitting position felt like someone was hammering nails into his nerves. Napping on a wood floor was not an experience he wanted to recreate ever again. He felt like he'd been dropped out of a plane.

He reached back for the edge of the wall and pulled himself up to find where that music was coming from. It wasn't the classical stuff the GPA played every morning to wake them, and it wasn't even coming from the loudspeakers.

Grunting, he turned himself around to scan the camp. Judging by the pink, dark sky, he'd slept through dinner. A lot of kids and GPAs were wandering around, doing evening activities. Some were jogging as a group. A lot of them were on the athletic field. The grassy rectangle had been split up into a volleyball game on one side and some kind of loosely-ruled ball game on the other. Some football/dodgeball hybrid. Maybe it was a Pred thing. That was where the music was coming from. A group in the stands were gathered around a booming radio.

Nearly everywhere he looked, wherever he saw a group of kids there were orange uniforms mixed in with the blue. Or blue mixed with orange. The little gatherings of Preds or Prey were all still pretty segregated, but everyone seemed to be allowing a few from the other side to mingle experimentally.

Normally a sight like this would fill Cody with rage. But he felt different now. After the emotions he'd gone through just prior to his nap, he was in a more contemplative, somber mood.

He watched the Preds and Prey talking together, playing together, laughing together. Asking questions of one another. Getting to know what it was like on the other side of the Fence.

And for the first time, Cody began to think, 'It might be nice if it were all true.'

He knew it wasn't, of course. Of course. There was a reason the war had been going on for so long. There was a reason the Fences stayed up. To ignore those reasons was to ignore all of history. But...

For the first time he thought he could at least *understand* the GPA's motives. At least, what they claimed their motives were. It'd be nice if the war could end. It was a nice fantasy to imagine everyone giving up on revenge and just forgiving each other. There was a part of him that kinda wanted that too.

There was also, not surprisingly, another part of him that was jumping up and down and throwing a tantrum at him for daring to entertain such seditious thoughts. But that voice was just a squeak. Beyond it, the bigger emotion he felt was sadness.

He closed his eyes. "No," he said sorrowfully.

It wasn't a matter of wanting the Great Predator Army's fantasy to be true. Because it _wasn't_ true. And nothing could make it become true. Ever. Cody knew this.

Even if he could admit to himself that maybe, assuming they weren't all liars, the GPA had truly good intentions, in the end it wouldn't matter. Good intentions couldn't change biology. Wanting everyone in the world to give up violence and hatred wouldn't make it magically come true like in a fairy tale.

Maybe in this one camp, sealed away under a dome, in these perfect laboratory conditions, Preds and Prey could get along okay. But 'in here' was different from 'out there'. The experiment could not be recreated on a large scale. Cody knew this.

Eyes closed, he sighed. He realized sleep was tickling at his brain again and he stood up to shake it off. No sense in falling back asleep now. Besides, he was hungry again.

'Besides, I gotta piss like a mid-flight refueling jet.'

Not seeing any other way, Cody simply pulled his shorts down, got as close to the edge as he dared, and watered the trees. 'Hope I don't kill any flowers.' Actually, his real worry was that someone with a sensitive enough nose might smell his piss and locate him. He tried to direct his stream as far away from the tower as he possibly could.

Then he sat himself down and rustled around in his shirtbag. Rationing bedamned, he was thirsty as hell and needed a second drink. He downed half a bottle of warm water without hardly realizing it. For his main course he dined on little square crackers with cheese-stuff squirted between them. Plus another granola bar. He was surprised he wasn't sick of them by now. For dessert, a few more fruit gummies and another water.

He checked through the cracks again. Still no one approaching the tower. It was like he'd been completely forgotten.

He wondered where they'd taken the vice president. He wondered if he and Yolanda had eaten dinner together.

He wondered if Kenny was worried about him.

Cody felt drained, numbed and purposeless.

He picked up his book and began reading again.


*****


By the time the sky had begun to darken, Cody knew 100% that he couldn't force himself to spend the night out here.

There were a variety of reasons. Number one was sheer boredom. He felt like he was going insane. It felt like he was dreaming with his eyes open. Weird, half-formed thoughts had been swimming around in circles inside his mind for hours now. He'd finished his book, and it was very good, and when he thought about starting on the next one, he just couldn't bring himself to. It seemed like an impossible amount of work to crawl over, pick it up, and drag his eyes across any more lines of text. Since then he'd been sitting with his back to the wall, just thinking strange, alien thoughts and hoping over and over again that he'd wake up to find this was all a dream.

Snatches of song lyrics. Bits of things Vera had said. Lists of books he'd owned and movies he'd seen. What random things smelled like. These were the kind of thoughts Cody's disintegrating brain was farting out at him.

Plus there were the mosquitoes. They hadn't been bad the previous nights (Maybe the wiredome kept most of them out), but for some reason they loved it up here. Their bites from earlier in the day had begun to itch. Cody had spent a few hours scratching furiously until he finally gave up. He'd sat still until the compulsive itch faded to a throb.

There was also the fact that he just couldn't stand being up here anymore. The wooden planks he'd been sitting on all day had turned his legs into twitching slabs of ache. There was no longer any position he could sit in that wouldn't become unbearably uncomfortable within fifteen minutes. And considering how he'd felt after his nap, he didn't think he could survive trying to sleep up here again.

He stood up, moaning as little splinters of agony tingled him all over. He patted one of the roof supports. "Tower, you served your purpose and I thank you a lot," he said, "but I really fucking hate your guts right now. Sorry."

He knew he'd face punishment for breaking the vending machines and the Newbrain chair. And for hurting poor Rick. He knew the Preds might torture him. But honestly, could it really feel worse than how stiff and cramped and itchy and sweaty and knotted-up he felt now? The very thought of slipping between his sheets into his nice soft bunk damn near tented Cody's pants.

He looked at the trapdoor hatch in the floor. He stared at it, making sure he was really okay with making this decision.

Going back down meant being caught. Was he really okay with that? Could he honestly say that he couldn't stand one more hour up here? Twenty minutes? Five minutes?

In purest honesty, all Cody cared about was not breaking his neck on the climb down.

"Fine," he said to himself as he pulled the hatch open.

He left his books and remaining food behind. Just in case he'd end up needing them again somehow.


*****


Cody took his descent slowly. As carefully as he'd ever done anything in his life. His arms and legs still felt like marionette limbs; stiff but floppy. Bending his knees was not fun.

Once his sneakers touched ground, he let out a loud sigh of relief and hugged the timbers.

'Thanks for not letting me fall. I guess I don't hate you. I just don't wanna spend another...' What'd it been? Eleven hours? Cody had no way of knowing. It was dark out; that was the extent of his knowledge.

As he trudged back through camp, he made a guess that it wasn't quite bedtime yet. A few kids were still running around or walking together. He thought he saw Frank and that Predkid for a second, but it turned out to be just another couple. Pred and Prey. Cody didn't even have the energy to feel disgust.

He passed the athletic field where the music was still going strong. A small cluster of kids were playing cards behind the bleachers. No one looked up at him as he walked by.

Cody really, really hoped he wouldn't run into Rick out here. He was in no condition to explain or apologize. He hoped he wouldn't run into *any* GPAs, actually. He hoped he could just slip unobtrusively back to the bunkhouse and slither into bed. Maybe get a _cold_ drink of water from the bathroom first.

And it seemed like maybe the good fairy was looking out for him tonight, because he ended up getting his wish. No one paid any attention to the haggard-looking chipmunk as he made his way back to bunkhouse 3. The boy who walked like a limping sixty-year-old. The boy whose eyes reflected only tiredness and defeat.

He paused on the steps leading up to the door. The night was calm and still, but he could hear voices inside. Loud, casual chatting.

'Maybe I could just sleep out here? Avoid the noise?' he thought.

He shook his head. 'No. Bed.' No amount of giggles or blather could keep him from sleep right now.

Cody pulled open the bunkhouse door and blinked at the bright light inside.

He'd almost expected a moment like in a Western where the bad guy walks into a saloon. Sudden silence, punctuated by shocked gasps from the patrons. But for the most part, no one was much interested in him. The bunkhouse was maybe a third full; kids sitting around on their beds chatting or reading. Most looked up briefly when he walked in, but few gave him more than a couple seconds' worth of attention.

One of the first things Cody noticed was the yellow tape plastered all around the vending machines. The glass had been cleared away and so had all the food. 'Looks like no one's getting any midnight snacks tonight. Sorry guys.'

Cody walked slow on tired legs, making a beeline straight for his bunk. If he had stayed on course, things might have turned out differently. But he wanted a drink of water so bad. He looked towards the bathroom, wanting to run the tap for a while to get it as cold as possible, then just cup his hands underneath and slurp that heavenly stuff up. Maybe even rub some on his bug bites. Things might have turned out differently if he'd just gone to bed. If he hadn't glanced to the left.

If he hadn't seen Walter.

The bobcat boy was sitting on a bunk surrounded by a harem of Preygirls. Two bunnies, a skunk and a chinchilla. They were fawning over him. Giggling. Playing with his hair. Treating him like their fascinating little pet Pred. Walter looked flustered, but he sure as hell wasn't shooing them away.

Cody stopped moving when he saw this.

He stared.

Slowly, his slack expression began to tighten.

Then, with barely any thought at all, he broke into a run.

A second later, the girls scattered like bowling pins as Cody's fist slammed into the side of Walter's face.

Cody heard screaming. He heard people scrambling out of their bunks. He heard the 'THUD THUD THUD' of the rain of punches he was bringing down on Walter's head and chest. He heard himself scream, in a hoarse and vicious voice he didn't recognize, "YOU DON'T BELONG HERE!!!"

And through it all, Cody found himself just as much a spectator to this little scene of drama as any of the other kids who had gathered around to watch. Some of the girls who'd been sitting with Walter were tugging at Cody's arms and shirt to pull him off. But he didn't feel them. Walter was wriggling like a suffocating fish at the bottom of a boat. But Cody didn't feel that either.

Cody felt like he was floating in a fog somewhere at the back of his mind while someone else operated all his systems. Rage had taken him over before, but this time he hadn't even felt it happen. It had just swept him aside like he was of no consequence whatsoever. It flicked Cody out of the way and sat down in the driver's seat like it had always belonged there. It threw up a steel shield to keep Cody out, then started moving levers to manipulate his arms and legs.

Cody didn't even feel anger. Yes, he felt it *around* him. Like he was floating in an air pocket deep inside a lava flow. But none of it seemed to touch him. He felt nothing but nothingness. He watched himself destroying Walter's face with merciless blow after merciless blow, and he felt completely numb inside. Even the sight of blood didn't do anything to him.

Then all of a sudden, gravity decided to pull a prank on him. Cody was flying straight up in the air. 'How is this possible?' he thought.

He soon found out why. Tina the lioness had yanked him straight up and off Walter with just one hand. She spun the chipmunk around, face to face, and she was so pissed off she was nearly steaming.

But she trembled a little, just for a second, when she looked in Cody's eyes and realized they were as dead as a corpse's.

"You, are coming with me," she snarled slowly as she regained her menace.

"Okay," said Cody.

Quick, echoing strides carried his limp self down the aisle of the bunkhouse towards the door. Cody felt like he was drifting slowly up from a dream. The sounds of shock and horror coming from behind him painted a picture of just how badly he had mangled poor Walter.

Cody heard two other adult voices talking rapidly. It sounded like they were gonna go carry the bobcat off to get him patched up.

Surreally, Cody found himself hoping Walter would be okay.





--Chapter Twelve--


Cody was taken to the medical building. Tina mumbled under her breath the whole way; all the things she wanted to say to him but couldn't allow herself to, because they were far too repulsive to say to a child. Even a little monster like this one.

Cody let her lead him with no resistance whatsoever. Truthfully, he was as appalled as she was. What the hell had happened back there? Yes, he hated that little prick Walter for what he'd said earlier, and he *did* plan to land a punch or two on him next time he saw him, but... He'd thought if he was gonna get revenge, he'd at least be in control of it. Instead it had been like sleepwalking. Like autopilot.

Inside the medical clinic, Tina located Vera in one of the labs, watching some other GPAs working on the damaged Newbrain chair. The lioness shoved Cody in her direction.

"This little thug just turned Walter Bennect's face into tomato sauce. You were the one who said leave him alone and maybe he'll cool off, so YOU get to be the one to deal with him now!"

Vera stood there, stunned, as Tina turned and walked straight out of the room. Her body language was clear: 'I'm done with this.'

Vera needed a moment to deal with what she'd just heard. Her mouth opened and closed helplessly a few times. Then she turned and saw Cody, standing there like a statue, expressionless.

Then the vixen changed. A grimace of bottomless disappointment and revulsion spread slowly across her features. Every atom of it directed at Cody.

He briefly looked up to meet her gaze, then immediately turned away. Those eyes blazed hotter than the sun.

Vera crossed the floor and grabbed Cody's arm. "Come with me right now," she snapped.

Cody allowed himself to be led. No resistance.

Her shoes tap-tapped on the tile as she led him swiftly down the white halls, deeper and deeper into the building.

Cody stared down at the floor. "Can I have a glass of water?" he dared to ask.

"NO," was the immediate reply.

He didn't say anything else to her.

Finally the vixen stopped at an ordinary metal door. It was unlocked, so she opened it a crack and pointed Cody towards it. "You are going to walk in there and sit down. You are not going to say another word to me, Cody St. John. I wish you had any idea of what I went through this morning after you threw your little tantrum. Damn near every single one of my colleagues was against me, but you heard Tina. I *stupidly* argued on your behalf. I keep thinking I'm going to reach the limit of your destructiveness and find a way to get through to you, but I guess I'm just dreaming."

She gave him a small shove. "Now get in there and sit down. I'm going to find out exactly what you did to Walter, and then I am going to introduce you to someone I think you really ought to meet."

Cody was too pinned to move. Her words were quick and sharp and they cut him to the bone.

"I said get moving!!" Vera exploded.

Cody managed to wrench himself loose from the floor and scamper into the room.

She slammed the door behind him and he heard her stomp off down the hallway.


*****


Cody slowly turned around, staring at the floor. Shame weighed him down and made his movements slow, like walking in increased gravity. Normally he would have spat in Miss Vera's face for treating him like she just had. But he couldn't deny he'd earned her scorn, no matter who it came from.

When he got his first look at the room in which he now found himself, a bit of fear pierced his self-loathing and began to wedge itself deeper. Everything was stark white and silver. The floor was white. The walls were white. Gleaming white. Not-a-single-speck-of-dust white. In the middle of the room was an all-metal table, with two uncomfortable looking all-metal chairs.

But the worst part was the top half of the room. Mirrors. From halfway up the wall, the whole thing was mirrors except for the ceiling which was a single huge rectangular light. And they leaned in too, the mirrors. Not quite like a capital 'A', but like a barn roof. The mirrors reflected the table and chairs and everything else, making Cody feel small and trapped. A specimen on display.

Worst of all, the room *itself* was mirrored. At the opposite end of the room there was a door identical to the one he'd just come through. It was enough to make him doubt his own perceptions for a moment.

Cody looked up and saw his own face reflected. He looked like shit.

'It might be two-way glass,' he thought.

'Of COURSE it's two-way glass, you fucking moron. Why would it be anything else?'

The room wasn't completely empty apart from the table and chairs. Tucked in the near corner, Cody noticed a small wooden bookshelf full of magazines and picture books. Nearby was a basket of toys. It reminded him of the same setup he'd seen in doctor's offices; stuff for little kids to play with so they wouldn't get bored.

And right next to the shelf and basket, Cody thought he was hallucinating for a second, was a water cooler.

He rushed over. He pulled out a paper cup from the dispenser so hastily he tore it in half. No problem, there were lots more. He extracted a second one more carefully, filled it and knocked it back. Oh, BLISS! It was so COLD!! Holy shit, was that ever refreshing! Cody closed his eyes and just let that wonderful coldness shiver all the way down his throat. He drank another cup just as quickly and kept them coming.

Plus, he used the water to wash Walter's blood off his hands. He couldn't get it off of him fast enough.

When his thirst was sufficiently slaked and his paws were as clean as they were going to get, Cody walked back over to the door he'd come in through. At least he thought it was the right door. This damn room was disorienting. He stood there, shifting back and forth. He hoped Vera would come back soon. He actually wanted to try to explain to her what had happened with Walter. Yes, she was a Pred and a liar and blah blah blah. But that look she'd given him had _hurt_. He didn't want to be looked at that way by anyone. Like he was something so evil it was repellant to the senses.

He began to wonder why she'd brought him here. Who was this mysterious furson she wanted him to meet. Maybe an interrogator? An insane hope flashed through him that maybe the Preds had brought in his father like they had with Yola's.

'No, stupid. No. I would have seen the helicopter if they had. Don't give yourself hope like that. It'll just hurt worse.'

Cody didn't have to wonder much longer. The room was not soundproofed, and from the opposite direction he heard echoing footsteps and a shrill voice steadily growing in volume.

The door across from his suddenly opened. "You are still not LISTENING TO ME!! Mrs. Lyubov, I am NOT going in there! Not until you explain what's going on! I am telling you I didn't DO anything this time!!"

Fucking hell, that VOICE! Cody instinctively shrank back. It was like a train whistle's screech!

The door opened wider and a pleasingly plump mousewoman in a white GPA uniform shoved a young fox girl into the room. The mouse glared at her with damn near the exact same look of exasperated contempt Vera had given Cody. "For the last time, that doesn't matter! This is not a punishment, Petra. You are here to learn something and you are not coming out of that room until you do! We'll be watching."

And with that she slammed the door shut loudly enough to make the small fox jump backwards.

Cody looked her up and down as she started pounding on the door, demanding to be released. She was about his age. A red fox, with deep crimson fur matched by creamy white. 'She looks like a red velvet cake,' he thought. Cody also noticed that this girl's fur and hair were kept in a state of fastidious, almost pathological, neatness. She had on a typical blue Pred's uniform top, but had kept her pleated green skirt from The Box.

Cody blinked. Whoa. No, no, no. That was a dizzying moment of unreality. This Pred chick had most definitely NOT come from The Box like him. It must have been just a coincidence that her skirt was the same color as the girls' uniforms there. And on closer inspection, it wasn't even quite the same color. Just close enough to make Cody briefly think he was going crazy.

He took a step forward and she swiveled around instantly at the sound.

'Shit!' The look in those *eyes* of hers! The yellow orbs in the fox's skull glowed with all the malice of a mad, petulant queen about to execute a few dozen of her servants.

"Ewwwwww! There's one of those THINGS in here with me!!" she screeched.

Cody blinked. Had he actually just been referred to as a 'thing'? "My name is Cody," he insisted warily.

She gave him a look like she could not possibly have been more grossed out. "ExCUSE me? What are you doing? What is your problem? Do you actually think you have the right to speak to a Pred when you haven't been spoken to first!?"

Cody stared at her. He was surprised his jaw hadn't hit the floor.

"WELL!?" the fox blared.

A tiny grin came to Cody's lips. He said nothing.

"ANSWER ME!!!"

He blinked at her. "Oh, I'm sorry. I thought I didn't have the right to speak to you," he said nonchalantly.

The fox fumed at him. Keeping her eyes locked to his, she left the door and walked around the table, closer to this uppity Preyboy. Not close enough to be within punching distance though.

"What kind of a name is 'Petra' anyway?" Cody said with a snort.

She tilted her head. Her lips drew back in an ugly, ugly snarl. "You don't get to talk to me like that." Her voice had dropped from a storm to a growl. "You're just food. All of you. Just. Fucking. Food. I tell them that and tell them that. And then they stick me in here with you. I guess they're trying to test me and see if I really mean it."

She suddenly turned and ran straight at the wall. She banged her fists on the glass so hard Cody honestly expected it to shatter. "IS THAT IT? YOU WANT ME TO KILL HIM SO YOU CAN WATCH? CALLING MY BLUFF, YOU STUPID ASSHOLES!? I'LL DO IT! I'LL DO IT!!"

Cody's eyes bulged. He inched backwards until he hit the door. "She's completely insane..." he muttered.

"I _heard_ that," she spat. The vixen turned and crossed the room towards him, still keeping herself out of attack range. "And I'm getting *sick* of hearing it. From the Weak Predator Army. From my 'friends' who've turned their backs on me like little shriveling shits. They all think I'm crazy because I don't wanna go along with their sweet little campfire singalong where everyone's friends and we all get along happily ever after the end." She looked for a second like she was going to spit on the floor. "You're FOOD," she screamed, pointing at Cody. Then she looked back at the mirrored wall. "...And you're not going to change my mind no matter what you do to me, do you HEAR ME!?"

Cody put his hands up in a calming gesture. Was he actually afraid of this girl? Maybe. And maybe that didn't make him a wimp either. This girl had a set of lungs that could knock airplanes out of the sky. "Hey, let's just-"

Her muzzle sliced through the air like a rapier. Her eyes locked on his. "Are you trying to talk to me again, food? Are you forgetting the natural order of things? I'm looking right at you and I don't see a real thought in your head or a soul in your body. I just see cuts of meat stacked on top of each other and tied up with fur."

"Well, you're cheerful," Cody quipped.

She gave him a simpering smile. "Nothing you say can change my mind either, food. You're an inanimate object."

He narrowed his eyes at her. "Can an inanimate object call you a bitch?"

She was unfazed. "A tape recorder could. Or a computer or a Talkcard. You haven't proved a thing."

Cody shook his head and laughed. "Boy, I'll bet at your First Prey you didn't even wait until your daddy dragged it into the room for you."

That got a reaction. Petra gave him a hideously dirty look for daring to know that ritual existed. "For your information," she enunciated venomously, "I haven't had my First Prey yet."

"Bet that pisses you off," Cody said.

She gave him a 'no shit, sherlock' smile. "Oh look! The inanimate object can state the obvious!" Then she turned to stare up at the mirrors. "I'm _going_ to have my First Prey! Like I _deserve_! And you can't keep me in here to stop it from happening!! I earned it! I'm Pred and I'm proud, and I'm going to take my place in my family and you can't keep me from it!!!"

She suddenly grabbed one of the metal chairs from beside the table and tried to throw it up at the glass. It was far heavier than she expected and it just ended up skidding across the floor. But it made a helluva noise.

Petra was glaring up into her own raging face as she ranted. "It's MY FAMILY! You have NO RIGHT! My mom and dad could catch a stupid Prey any day of the week! They could catch a dozen! I'll _have_ one for my First Prey! And when I look into its eyes as it dies, all I'm going to think is, 'Good riddance'!!"

Cody's fear was starting to ebb. This loud, spoiled princess-thing had startled him at first. But now he thought he was seeing through to her real self.

He cooled himself down from his state of wariness and gave her a clam, challenging little smile. "I hear a lot of talk," he said quietly. "Well... I'm standing right here. Kill me."

Petra turned around.

It was his turn to lock eyes with her. "Sorry your family's not here to see it. Why don't you stop whining and prove your words? Or *are* they just words?"

"You shut up," she ordered.

"I don't have to do a fucking thing you tell me to, fox."

She held up her hand, claws up. "You do if you don't wanna start bleeding," she replied.

Cody held *his* hand up. "I got those too. Mine can climb trees. You really wanna find out whose is stronger? I might mess up your hairdo."

Petra snarled at him, breathing heavily. "When I kill my First Prey, it's gonna be in my own home, surrounded by my family, like it should be. I'm not gonna *waste* that on you!"

He chuckled. "Yeah, I thought you were just talking shit."

"I only said I wasn't gonna *kill* you," she corrected. "I didn't say I wouldn't carve you up and paint this room red."

Ooh, she was good at this. Cody took a step forward and crossed his arms. "Try it, stinky."

Petra flinched as if slapped. "What!?"

Oho, had he just struck a nerve? Cody grinned. "You _stink_. What's there not to understand? All you Preds stink."

Petra stamped her foot. "I do NOT!!!"

"I can smell you from here," Cody said nonchalantly. "You canines smell like you wash yourselves in your own shit every morning."

"That's disgusting! YOU'RE disgusting!!"

Cody cupped a hand to his ear. "I didn't hear a denial!"

Petra seethed. She stepped to the side, circling him, trying to decide from which direction she should lunge to bite out this little prick's throat and put him on permanent mute. "Do you know who my father is?" she asked in a low growl.

"Another smelly fox who smells like shit?" Cody guessed cheerfully.

Petra did not take the bait. She kept circling, forcing Cody to start moving sideways too. "He's got more money than your nonexistent mind could imagine. He's one of the richest Preds on the planet. He owns a shipping company, seven manufacturing plants and a hospital. He could buy your entire family and have them boiled alive on our front lawn if I asked him to."

Cody laughed soundlessly. "My dad's a four star general. If he was here, he'd gun you down without blinking. Make your pelt into a rag to wash his car with."

That one got to her. Just a little, but he could tell. Probably the thought of her gorgeous fur being used for something so dirty.

Her scowl uncurled into a smile. "He might. Assuming he could get the Pred dick out of his mouth long enough to aim."

Cody took two quick steps forward and his fist was up in the air so fast it was a blur. "Apologize for saying that. Now!!" His tone made it clear he was not giving her a choice.

Petra's smile darkened. She'd hit a nerve. "Your dad sucks Pred cock. If he's off at war right now, I'll bet he let himself get captured so he'd get a different dick up his ass every night."

Cody took another step towards her. His fist trembled slightly; his arm muscles were tensed to bring it down at a millisecond's notice.

"You're going to regret saying that," Cody whispered to her.

Then Petra's smile fell. The gleeful malice in her eyes turned to fear. She backed up a step. "You can't hit me!"

Cody's murderous expression didn't change. "Oh really? I think I can."

Petra swiftly turned and ran towards the door. "Mrs. Lyubov!! Let me out now!!!"

Cody began to grin. He advanced towards her. His fist was still on a hair trigger and it wanted something soft and whiny to sink itself into. "Oh, NOW you're scared? Where's your 'Preys are just food' now?"

Petra was banging on the mirror. "LET ME OUT!" she shrieked.

He winced at her sheer volume, but didn't stop advancing on her.

"You can't!!" she insisted, starting to panic. "They won't let you! That door'll open and they'll drag you off before you can even touch me!"

He tilted his head to the side. "Oh? You're sure?" He started getting his other fist ready, figuring it might want some fun too. "You think maybe the reason they stuck you in here with me was because they're fuckin' sick of your MOUTH? Maybe *they* can't beat the piss out of you, but they know *I'm* just psychotic enough to not give a shit!?"

Utter horror was reflected in Petra's wide eyes. "MRS. LYUBOV!!!"

Cody grinned. After her hysterical little performance a moment ago, her fear was absolutely hilarious. Fists at the ready, he took a run at her.

He wasn't really intending to hit her. He was just gonna pound the door or the wall right next to her face and give her a good scare. Make her scream.

Petra had other plans though. As soon as Cody was close enough, she buried her shoe in his stomach.

Cody bent double and stars sparkled in his vision.

His fist, primed for action, did what it was expecting to do and headed straight for Petra's jaw.

She flinched just enough to catch the punch in the side of the neck. She stumbled away, gasping for air.

Gulping, trying not to puke, Cody wobbled backward and saw her slinking away. "NO!" he roared. "GET BACK HERE!"

Petra ducked into a run, throwing the other chair at him to try to trip him up.

Cody used one hand on the table to vault perfectly over it. Not even trying to, his jump landed him directly on the tip of her tail.

The vixen's unholy squeal of pain was so loud and piercing, Cody thought his skull had shattered.

The next thing he knew, five claws raked across his cheek. Five little rivers of blood were created. From the sting, Cody knew she had cut *deep*. He hissed in pain and threw a few wild punches. One of them connected weakly, but he didn't see where.

Petra ran to the opposite end of the room and Cody kept chasing her. She knocked the bookshelf over into his path but there was plenty of room to dodge it. Magazines spilled all over the place.

Cody caught up and grabbed Petra's collar. She yowled ferally and twisted around, slashing blindly in his direction. Cody ducked most of her swipes, but one caught the inside of his ear. He hollered. That stung like a fucking hornet!

With her enemy distracted, Petra took the opportunity to kick him in the nuts as hard as she possibly could.

In the movies, when a guy got slammed in the junk, they played a wacky sound effect and then he made a funny face. This was nothing like that. In reality, the amount of pain that shot through Cody's body had felt like it annihilated his entire nervous system. It felt like all the broken glass in the world had just teleported through his crotch. Cody fell on the ground, unable to breathe or see. His ears rang. He threw up a little in his mouth. This was pain from another fucking dimension.

Petra was standing behind him, screaming something at him, but he could barely make anything out.

'Mind if I take over for a moment?' he felt his rage ask.

'Go right ahead.'

And just like that, the pain lessened. It didn't go away completely. It dropped by maybe half. But it was enough for Cody to think and move again. Or rather, for his rage to get back in the driver's seat and kill that little fox bitch.

Cody watched from the backseat of his mind, looking out through someone else's eyes, and giggled at the overwhelming shock on Petra's face. She said something about it being impossible, him getting up after what she'd done.

But he *was* getting up. And now he was walking towards her with his hands out. And now he had them around her throat and was slamming the back of her head into the nearest wall.

Cody's fist curled itself into a perfect wrecking ball. He drew back his arm like an archer about to fire his bow.

From behind him he heard the door flying open and adults running into the room.

But they couldn't move faster than Cody's fist.

It soared with perfect aerodynamic precision through the air and hit Petra's eye-socket like it was trying to plow straight through the wall behind her. Cody didn't know exactly what, but he'd sure as hell felt something break in there.

Cody felt a dazzling, terrifying satisfaction. Like roasting in a Hell made of fireworks and adrenaline. Like all he wanted was to let his rage take over forever and annihilate his true self if he could just feel like this all the time.

And then suddenly, all of that was gone. Someone was pulling him away. Someone was shouting in horror at what he'd just done.

Cody heard another sound too. A sound that cut through everything else in his malfunctioning mind.

Petra had sunk to the floor with her face in her paws and was crying in pain so hard she could barely breathe. She sucked in wet sobs and wailed. She trembled all over, completely helpless, unresponsive to anything but the unthinkable pain she was in. It was one of the most pitiful, heartbreaking sounds Cody had ever heard.

'And you caused that,' his conscience reminded him.

Cody's heart crumbled.

Vera and that mousewoman were standing on either side of Petra while the little fox shook with sobs. The mousewoman gently lifted one of the girl's paws away and Cody saw blood dripping from her eye.

'That's where I punched her. As hard as I could. So hard I wanted to kill her.'

Suddenly, this was no longer a battle of wills between two fierce, proud opponents. It was two kids in a room, beating the crap out of each other for the stupidest of reasons: none at all.

Cody felt all the air rush out of him as he sank to the floor too. And he also cried.


*****


That same look of hateful disappointment was on Vera's face as she tended to his wounds, but now it was joined by an even more overwhelming emotion: humiliation. She spoke to him roughly, even as her fingers applied soothing cream to the cuts on his cheek, making sure Petra could overhear too. "You two are worse than I ever could have imagined. I'm running out of ideas, do you realize that? Mrs. Lyubov had been telling me stories about a little miss Petra Penmark, who hated Prey more than anything else in existence, and I told her stories about a little mister Cody St. John: vice versa. I thought that maybe bringing you together... Maybe you'd see how foolish and repugnant you two can look sometimes. When you've got that look in your eyes like you want to kill the whole world. I guess I should have known better. You two don't want to learn *anything*! I'm not sure you *can*!"

To Cody only she asked, "Can you stand up? I saw where she kicked you." Her voice was softly caring now. Cody felt his emotions all shattered inside. Her scolding made him flinch, but her concern made him almost want to hug her.

He tried to stand. The moment his groin muscles engaged, he felt like he'd been stabbed with an icepick. He fell over on his side, clutching himself and hissing through his teeth.

Mrs. Lyubov was dabbing Petra's face with gauze. It appeared the boy had torn something internally. Petra's right eye was red as a cherry.

The plump mouse cast a look at the writhing boy on the floor. "See there, Petra? Can you see with your one eye? Look what you did to him. Are you proud? Are you happy? You got what you wanted, what you've been bragging about almost since the first second you got here. You finally hurt a Prey. Good for you."

The words stung nearly as much as the pain wracking her whole throbbing face. Petra's tail was tucked between her legs. This was a world of difference from her boasts and fantasies. In her mind, hurting Prey had been no different from punching a pillow. They were nothing like her. They didn't feel pain the same way. Yet here was the chipmunk boy curled up in a ball, shaking and drooling on the floor he was suffering so much.

'Are you proud? Are you happy?'

It was an effort for Mrs. Lyubov to mask her concern for this poor girl. As she cleaned up the trickles of blood, her heart begged her to just hug Petra and do everything she could to make the little fox's pain go away. 'But not yet,' her mind insisted. Petra needed to hurt now. She needed to hurt so she could learn.

"That pain you're feeling?" she told the girl, loudly enough so the boy could overhear too. "You might as well have inflicted it yourself. You might as well have been standing in this room alone, punching and clawing at yourself like crazy people do. All we did was put you in a room together. Everything else that happened, you decided it. You made all the choices."

Vera nodded as she gave Cody a pain pill. "Exactly. You could have sat down together at the table and talked out your differences. You could have read magazines at the opposite ends of the room. You could have ignored each other completely. And even if you absolutely HAD to fight each other, you didn't have to be so vicious! I *still* can't believe how much you two managed to do to each other before we could get down here and stop you!"

"And how far would you have gone if we hadn't?" Mrs. Lyubov asked pointedly as she placed a bandage over Petra's eye.

The foxgirl gulped, not knowing the answer.

Vera took Cody's hand and began helping him to his feet. He had no idea what was in that pill she'd just given him, but damn, did it work fast. His whole crotch area was just a prickly, numb void now. Though he knew he was probably gonna be too sore to walk tomorrow. He wondered if he had anything left down there but mush.

He realized the fox girl was looking at him. He met her gaze only for a fraction of a second, then looked away. He'd seen too much of his own emotions there.

The two adults began to lead the two children out of the mirrored room and down the hall. The young ones followed silently, too ashamed to speak.

Cody noticed he was limping with each step, walking like he was carrying a watermelon between his knees. He was really, really glad Vera had given him that numbing pill.

Petra was stumbling too. She kept bumping into her teacher's leg. It was awkward and frightening to have half of her vision suddenly turned dark.

Petra and Cody were led to a small room down the hall, much cozier than the one they'd just left. It looked like a doctor's office. It was dominated by one single machine at its center with a bright light above. The big white plastic table looked brand new. It had a double headrest at the top with blue gel cushions. It seemed a lot more complicated than a simple table though, with panels all over that looked like they might open up and reveal hidden compartments. Both Cody and Petra assumed it was some kind of healing device, so they did not struggle as Miss Vera and Mrs. Lyubov helped them up to lie down on it, side by side.

The fox and chipmunk were not exactly comfortable to be so close though. They shuffled their limbs and tails around to make sure no parts of themselves were touching.

Mrs. Lyubov went over to the small leather chair in the corner to sit and smoke an e-cigarette. Puffs of odorless vapor emerged from the little tube. She glanced to her colleague. Vera glanced back and nodded. They had already discussed what was to happen next.

The grey fox reached underneath the white table and swung around a strange, thin rectangular device. It was about the size of a TV screen; white plastic at the bottom, metal and glass on top. Cody and Petra both began to feel a bit wary as Vera positioned the rectangle directly between their heads and bodies. They flinched when she clicked it into place. Plastic cushions inflated to seal the spaces between the machine and their necks.

It was just like being in the stocks.

"Wh-what is this?" Cody hesitantly asked. "Is it going to heal us?"

Vera blinked at him and cocked her head to the side. "Whatever gave you that idea?"

"WHAT?!" Petra barked. "What's it gonna do!? Let me out of here!" She reached up to push against the neck restraint, but it was completely immovable.

"It's locked to the table with two steel bolts. I don't think you're going to budge it," Vera informed her.

Cody had forgotten his pain. The bright light directly overhead bit at his eyes as he watched Vera walk slowly and deliberately around the table towards him, her heels tap-tapping on the floor. "What are you going to do to us?" he squeaked.

She looked down into his eyes with an expression of sad, tragic compassion. She patted his cheek. "I'm terribly sorry, Cody. But you made this decision necessary."

"What decision!?"

The grey fox walked around behind them. She leaned down to position her muzzle directly between her two captives. Her voice was calmly casual. "Well, you see, this was an experiment. And we'd planned for several contingencies depending on the results. Unfortunately, you two had to go and pick the worst one possible."

Petra's tail started to twitch anxiously.

"You have both said, multiple times, that you hate the other's genus," Vera continued. "Cody hates the Preds and Petra hates the Prey. So much so that nothing we say could ever change your minds. Well, we finally believe you. You've convinced us. You've won."

Mrs. Lyubov still sat in the corner, saying nothing. Cody and Petra could occasionally hear her exhale.

Not really wanting to know the answer, Petra asked, "What did we win?"

Vera smiled. "Why, you've won a free trip out of here!"

The two young furs relaxed a little.

"Unfortunately, it's not in a way you'll like."

The two young furs tensed up even more than before.

Vera flicked on a switch at the top of the rectangular device. It hummed for a second, then a brilliant sapphire glow appeared at the top of the glass. A perfect blue line. "See that?" Vera pointed out. "That is an incredibly powerful and efficient medical laser. When I push the little green button on the side, it will start to descend. In exactly three minutes, you will both be decapitated. Don't worry though, it's perfectly painless."

Cody gulped as he realized he was trapped in the world's slowest guillotine.

Petra's lip quivered. "You can't do this," she whimpered.

Vera patted her hair. "I'm sorry, but I can. Actually, I have no choice. You have both made it incredibly clear that you will never assimilate. You'll never go along with the GPA's plans. So, we've chosen to respect that. We'll stop trying to persuade you."

"Why can't you just let us go!?" Petra wailed.

"Because you might give away our position," Vera replied sensibly. "You might bring the army right to us. For the sake of our secrecy, plus the safety of all your friends and fellow campers, we certainly can't let that happen."

Cody's breathing was coming in shallow, wavery bursts. "What if we promise not to tell anyone?"

Vera leaned over him, looming. Her face was huge and upside-down and painted with a condescending smile. "But Cody, this is all about our inability to trust you!"

The vixen folded her arms and leaned against the end of the table, kicking her foot in the air behind her. "It's not all bad news though," she told him. "After the laser decapitates you, dozens of tiny robotic arms will start carving up your bodies. Both of you." She pinched the chipmunk's cheek. "Cody, you are going to become dozens of yummy hamburgers to feed all the kids on the Pred side of camp. They'll love you, I'm sure. Doesn't that sound nice?"

She turned towards Petra and curled a bit of the girl's hair around her finger. "And you, Petra, will be transformed into a lovely, luxurious pelt. You'll make a gorgeous winter jacket for someone."

Both the fox and chipmunk were too paralyzed with terror to respond.

Vera stood up then, and her tone lost its playful edge. She sounded cold as ice now. "But you know what the best part is? The table won't just take your meat, Cody, or just Petra's pelt. It'll take Cody's fur and Petra's meat too. You see, this is just a machine. A butchering machine. It doesn't see your species. It doesn't see Predator or Prey. It is completely genus-blind. All it sees are two potential sources of raw materials."

The vixen leaned in just a bit closer to make sure they heard and understood. "To the machine, you are both perfectly equal."

And with that, she pressed the little green button.

The machine buzzed. The laser started descending.

"Three minutes!" Vera said cheerfully.

The hum of the machine broke the spell Vera had woven over them with her cruel, true words. Cody and Petra both started struggling and screaming with everything they had. Fighting for their very lives. Cody slammed the flat of his palm over and over into the side of the rectangle. It barely moved a millimeter. Petra was scratching all over every surface she could reach, desperately trying to find a panel she could pry off. Maybe there was some circuits or wires she could rip out.

As much as they tried, all they accomplished was making a lot of noise. Both of them grunted and screamed and yowled and pleaded. They flailed and kicked, making the table shake but accomplishing nothing more.

Vera stood by, leaning against a medicine cabinet, watching impassively.

The blue beam descended slowly. Maddeningly slowly. It had a long way to go, but nothing the two condemned furs did deterred its progress.

Cody stomped the table as hard as he could. The pain in his crotch was nothing now. Even if he felt it tearing rips at the edges of the pain pill's numbing effect, it didn't matter. Cody damn well knew he'd rather be in agony than dead.

On one of his stomps, his foot came down by complete accident on Petra's tail. She screeched in sharp pain. Cody remembered having stepped on it before, back when he was trying to hurt her on purpose. "Sorry," he said reflexively.

Petra was actually startled for a second by his apology. She didn't think it was possible from someone like him.

And that gave her an idea.

"What was your name again!?" she burst out. Desperation was clear as a bell in her voice.

"Cody," he replied. "Why?"

"Cody, I'm SORRY!!" she shouted.

It was so close to his ear it hurt a little. Not to mention that her sudden repentance baffled him.

She drilled into him with her eyes, forcing him to listen to her. "I'm sorry about fighting with you. I'm sorry for kicking you in the stomach and the balls and clawing your cheek open. I'm sorry for all the things I said. I'm sorry for saying your Dad sucks Pred dicks."

Cody looked at her perplexedly. "That's nice. But none of it matters because WE'RE GONNA DIE IN LESS THAN THREE MINUTES!!!"

She growled at him. He wasn't getting it. "Cody, I just Said. That. I'm. Sorry." She ground out every word like she was hitting him over the head with them. "Now don't you have something to say to me too!?"

He blinked. Then he got it. She thought that maybe this was all a test. Maybe if they reconciled, Miss Vera would turn off the machine and let them go. It made sense. It was certainly the kind of thing that was right up the GPA's alley.

But when Cody opened his mouth to respond, he hesitated. *Was* he actually sorry?

After all, while he'd definitely done some awful shit to her, he hadn't started the fight. And she'd hurt him first; he was only planning to scare her. Was he sorry? He was ashamed of how far he'd gone, yes, but was that the same thing as sorry?

Petra stared at the glowing blue line steadily approaching their necks. "Cody..." she hissed urgently.

He looked into her eyes and made his decision. He couldn't lie, even to save his own life. It was dishonorable. "I can't."

"WHAT!? WHY!?" she exploded.

The chipmunk's eyes reflected sadness and acceptance. "Because I'm not sorry. You're my enemy. There's still a war going on. I get what your plan is, but I can't just lie to get out of this."

She sucked in a deep breath and growled it out. "Well I *will*, you dumbass!" she screeched. "I still hate you too, but that doesn't mean I wanna see you die!"

Cody was stunned. Not just by what she'd said, but the look in her eyes too. She believed it. She completely believed it.

Even if she still hated him, just like he still hated her, she didn't want to watch him die. Just like, he now realized, he didn't want to watch her die either.

The laser's hum was growing steadily louder. They didn't have much time left.

So, Cody lied. "I'm sorry, Petra. I'm sorry we fought. I'm sorry I hurt you. I'm sorry I said hurtful stuff to you."

Petra immediately craned her neck backwards to seek out the two adults in the room. "There!! See!? Mrs. Lyubov! Whoever you are, other fox! Did you hear him? Let us go now!! PLEASE!!! WE PASSED YOUR TEST!!!"

Mrs. Lyubov closed her eyes and took another slow drag on her cigarette.

Vera stepped into Petra's field of vision, looking regretful. "What test? I'm sorry, dear. I think you misunderstood me."

Petra's heart froze. Her face went perfectly slack.

"I told you I was going to kill you and I meant it. There is no way out of this."

There was a moment of near-total silence. The only sound in the room was the incessant hum of the killing beam.

Cody felt something strange inside of him, and realized it was the dull shock of his hope dying.

Petra listened to her breathing for a second. Felt her heartbeat. Watched the blue beam drop out of sight inside the white plastic half of the device, meaning it had reached the point of no return.

"Cody," she said softly.

"Yeah?" he replied.

"Hold my hand."

He'd never heard her voice so quiet before. He understood. Even though she was Pred, even though she was his enemy, he couldn't deny her request. They had too little time left to care about anything else.

His paw reached across the table to find hers. Softly-furred fingers entwined. They felt each other's warmth.

They were both silent as they waited for the laser to finally do its work. And it took a long time. Much longer than they'd expected. Three minutes had sounded so short when they'd first heard it. But these last seconds were an eternity. They couldn't even see the beam anymore. They simply had to wait until they felt it.

They did not look at one another, but Petra held Cody's paw tighter, and he squeezed it back.

Then they felt it begin.

There was no pain, like Vera had promised, and that somehow made it worse. There was only a horrible, cold, electrical tugging that separated flesh from flesh. The laser had mercifully sped up from its previous descent. They didn't have to wait another three minutes for it to finish. From throat to nape only took a few seconds. Suddenly, everything from the neck down was numb. Simply gone.

But they could still hear and see. It was terrifying. Impossibly wrong.

'How many more seconds of this is there,' Cody wondered, 'before I end forever?'

It wasn't over yet though. Miss Vera and Mrs. Lyubov stepped forward. They tenderly, silently, lifted the children's heads up. Very gently, they turned them upright to face one another, then sat them back down on the table.

The bright light above illuminated every whisker on the fox girl's muzzle. Cody could see the surface of her little black nosepad in perfect detail. Every hair of her fur. Each line of her iris, as her un-bandaged eye stared back at him.

Her mouth was hanging open slightly, as was his. She seemed to be trying to say something to him, but he'd never learned how to lip-read.

He didn't need to anyway. He was sure she was thinking the exact same thing he was. How stupid they both were. Their hatred had led them here. Vera had pushed the little green button, yes, but her explanation had been inarguably solid.

Hadn't he gotten his wish? Hadn't he been trying all this time to prove to the Preds how much he hated them? That he'd never, ever, ever wear their armband? That he'd never allow a future where the Fences came down and the two sides integrated? Wasn't he getting everything he wanted?

His hate had led him straight to this moment. His hate had killed him.

'I'm sorry,' he thought towards Petra. He meant it this time.

He watched her eye. It was still moving. 'Not for long,' he knew. It was only a matter of seconds before their brains would run out of oxygen.

Then it would all be over. Permanently. He'd thought about death a lot since his kidnapping, but of course it had never seemed TRULY real. It was just a fear, not a possibility.

And now it was an inevitability.

There was no way out of this. Nothing he could do to save himself. Nothing. No words he could say. No daring escape. His body was over there being cut up into hamburger meat.

It was over.

He saw tears on Petra's cheeks. He felt them on his own, too.

Sparkles began flitting at the edges of his vision. Like little microscopic fireflies. He felt his nerves telling him that something was terribly, terribly wrong here. Systems were shutting down. His hearing started to fail.

Cody watched the lights in Petra's eye go out. She died looking at the wounds she'd made in his cheek.

Then his own vision began to dim. The lights receded. He realized the last thing he'd ever see in the world would be her face. If they'd only chosen differently, they would have seen tomorrow together.

'I'm sorry,' he thought again. Not just to her, but to his father, and Aunt Cherise, and everyone else he'd ever known and loved. He wouldn't be seeing them again.

He felt very, very sleepy now.

And then everything went dark. It was, in an odd way, peaceful.





--Chapter Thirteen--


The sound of classical music.

Cody came awake with his heart pumping so frantically he thought it might bash its way right through his ribcage.

Fear held him in a grip so tight it was like being crushed in a trash compactor. His breathing was uncontrollably fast. He had never been so scared of a nightmare in his entire life. Never. Absolutely never.

Cody was lying in his bunk with the blanket pulled way up over his head. He was clutching it so hard he didn't think he'd ever move his hand again. His eyes were open so wide they hurt.

He looked around. He was in the bunkhouse. Kids getting out of bed. Changing out of old uniforms into new ones. Going to the bathrooms. Talking. Everything completely ordinary.

He forced himself to blink. He could still see everything from his dream. That fox girl's face. The butchering machine. The bright light. The mirrored room. He could perfectly hear the cruel glee in Miss Vera's voice as she described how he'd be killed and served as lunch to the Predkids on the other side of camp.

He reached down to his crotch and felt around. No pain. Not even any numbness. Everything seemed just as it should be. He felt his cheek and his ear. No scratches. He was perfectly fine.

'I wasn't real,' he tried to convince himself. 'It was just a dream.'

But...

Wait.

No. No, it couldn't be.

His rational mind started buzzing. Something was wrong here. Deeply, intensely wrong. That hadn't just been a nightmare. It was too real. Too _structured_. No dream he'd ever had in his whole life had ever felt like that one. His dreams were hazy, haphazard brainfarts. He'd never remembered dialogue from a dream before. At least not more than a sentence or two. He'd never felt real pain in a dream either. He'd even remembered the smell of that fox girl, and the medicinal odor of the salve Vera had rubbed on his face.

He was meant to *think* it was a dream!

Suddenly a new fear enveloped Cody St. John. The ultimate fear of Not Knowing. Something completely impossible had just happened to him and he was helpless to explain it.

He had died. He had FUCKING DIED. He had felt the laser cutting through his neckmeat. He had felt himself getting dizzy and lightheaded from lack of oxygen. His vision had gone black. And he'd seen Petra die too.

Then all of a sudden he's waking up in bed? What the hell did it mean? How the hell was it possible!? Cody clutched his pillow and felt his mind pick up the problem and inspect it from every angle. Test it, toy with it, shake it. There had to be an explanation that made sense. Hypnotism? No. He remembered every moment that had led from this bed to the tower to beating up Walter to the medical building to his death and back here again. It couldn't have all been fake.

Just to be sure, he dared to glance down past the foot of his bed. The vending machines were still smashed.

Okay, so his little guerilla raid had really happened yesterday. What other possibilities did that leave?

An implanted memory, he suddenly realized. A scripted, falsely-generated memory, downloaded right into his brain. He didn't know of any technology in existence that could do that.

But maybe it was possible with a Newbrain.

Maybe... oh fuck no please no... maybe they had given him one without him even realizing it!

Cody sat bolt upright, clutching his head. He felt around in the back for any trace of where they might've made a hole. He didn't feel one, but they might've filled it in when they were done. NO! This was impossible! When was the last time he remembered a gap in his memory? He searched back through the previous day. He'd taken a nap in the observation tower. But that couldn't be it, could it? Vera had implied that she and the GPA had known where he was all along and that she'd lobbied to just leave him alone until he came down, right? Or was he misremembering that part? Could they have possibly snuck up on him while he was sleeping, hoisted him down to the ground, stuck a Newbrain in him, then put him back in the exact same position as before? No, no. Too complicated. There had to be a simpler method. But that meant the last time he'd been unconscious before that was when... When he'd woken up yesterday morning. Holy shit... Maybe someone had told the Preds about what he'd done to Frank and that maned wolf guy. Maybe they'd decided that they were tired of his shit and had just replaced his brain that very night?

And if that were true... How many of the others had they done it to also?

"...Cody?"

"YAAAH!!!"

Kenny leapt back and nearly hit his head on the nearest bunk. "Shit!! You scared the living piss outta me!"

Cody forced his heart to stop thudding. It was just Kenny. That was good. Kenny was normal. Kenny was his rock of sanity in this fucking nightmare hellhole. "I'm sorry! You just startled me! I'm sorry..."

"It's okay. I figured you might've just had a nightmare from the look on your face. Your eyes were all buggin' out."

Cody very weakly laughed. He wasn't in a humorous mood though. He felt like if he had one more shock to the system today, his mind would snap and go bye-bye.

He turned to get up, but then he noticed something wrong with Kenny. Something he couldn't quite put his finger on. Something wrong with Kenny. He watched his bunnyfriend stretching. Something wrong with his arm. Something red with Kenny's arm.

Cody felt all of his blood drain out of his body. He felt the ground underneath him melt.

He pointed wordlessly at the red Pred Helper armband Kenny was wearing.

Kenny saw the shock on his friend's face and realized this might get ugly. "Oh, this? No, don't worry! I haven't gone over to their side or anything. It's just, y'know, all the chicks in this place have been getting into it. It's for them, that's all, I promise."

Cody slowly shook his head. He didn't believe it. Not one bitty bit. "You're one of them," he whispered.

"What? No. Man, I just said-"

"GET THE FUCK AWAY FROM ME!!!" Cody shrieked.

Everyone in the entire bunkhouse turned towards the sound. It was hard to believe a screech like that had actually come out of someone.

Cody backed himself as far up against the wall as he could. "TRAITOR! FUCKING TRAITOR!!"

Kenny held his hands up. "No, Cody! Calm down! I promised you I wouldn't!"

"LIEEES!!!" the chipmunk screamed.

Other kids were crowding around now. Cody's eyes darted around at all of them. He saw all the red. They all had armbands. All of them. How many of them had Newbrains? How many were all wired up for the GPA's control? "STAY AWAY FROM ME, ALL OF YOU!! I'LL KILL YOU!!"

Tycho, looking utterly terrified, stepped a little closer. "Hey, whatever's going on, it's okay."

"YOU'RE WEARING THEIR UNIFORM, MOTHERFUCKER!!!" Cody was screaming so loud his voice was starting to go hoarse. Other people could practically *hear* his throat muscles tearing.

"Cody, you're scaring us!" Kenny pled.

The chipmunk let out a shrill scrape of laughter. "*I'M* SCARING *YOU*!? THAT'S HILARIOUS! YOU FREAK SONS OF BITCHES! YOU'RE NOT GONNA MAKE ME LIKE YOU! NEVER!"

Tycho reached for Cody's arm to calm him down. This was a bad mistake.

Cody didn't even know who it was he saw in his peripheral vision, he just knew it was an attacker. So he attacked first. No thought, just action. But this time, rage was not in the driver's seat. Pure, blind panic was.

Tycho screamed as three of his fingers snapped.

"TAKE THAT, SHITBRAINS!!"

Cody leapt, pushing off against the headboard and tacking the gerbil to the ground. The crowd gasped, screamed and tried to scatter. Like a demon, Cody twisted himself around and jumped again, nailing Kenny to the floor.

"TRAITORS DON'T NEED TEETH!" he howled as he started punching Kenny's face into ribbons of red.

Two larger boys tried to shove him off the rabbit. Drunk on adrenaline, Cody lashed out and took a piece out of one of them. Behind them was the open door. Escape. Cody made a break for it.

He ran but heard them chasing him. "YOU'LL NEVER GET ME! NEVER! NEVER!"

Just before he reached the door, he remembered a nifty trick Petra had tried on him. With a strength possible only from insanity, he grabbed the closest bunkbed and _pulled_. He grinned like a shark as he saw it start to tip over, blocking his path.

Cody had no way of knowing that someone was still asleep in the upper bunk.

He skipped out the door, giggling at the sound of the massive crash. He was down the steps in a flash, leaving behind him the anguished screams of a young mouse whose leg he had just broken.


*****


The tower. Yes. The tower again. It was safe. Vera didn't know about it, she was just bluffing. That bitch. He'd do her good for lying to him. Cut her face right in half. He just had to get to the tower and rest. Snacks were already up there. He could hide all day. Hide and spy on all of them. Fuck them all.

Cody tore through the camp with incredible speed. A rictus smile was slashed wide across his face. His teeth ground against each other so hard it hurt. His eyes bulged, tears flickering at the corners.

Panic, it seemed, could feel almost as good as rage. He just had to give in and let it drive.

Someone was in his path up ahead. All he saw was an orange uniform. A traitor's uniform. He shoved it out of the way, heard a shout, and kept on going.

Past the school, past the food place, past the beheading building. To the woods! That's where the tower was! His little treehouse! He'd be safe there! Oooh, and maybe he could stop by the storage shed and go bow-shopping too! Pull that string back and fill some fuckers with nice pointy arrows.

Oh shit, complication. The Great Predator Assholes were wise to him. Two big burly fucks were on the path ahead of him, advancing fast. This was not like with Rick. There was no way in hell they were not on an intercept course.

But they couldn't catch him. Nope! They had no hope! Cody was faster than God. He skidded suddenly to the right, ducking behind another classroom building. It seemed they did know about the tower after all. Oh well. No problem. There were other places here to hide. He knew there was.

But where? Cody punched some poor dumbass out of his way as he vaulted past a patch of bushes. Where wouldn't they expect him to go, not in a million years?

Oh, how obvious! Predatorville!

He had never been to the Pred side of camp. He'd been too scared before. But not in the state he was now. Now, if a Pred so much as looked at him funny, Cody would grab two handfuls of the bastard and tear him in two right down the middle. Rrrrrrrrip! Just like a newspaper! Black and white and red like a fire hydrant full of goddamn blood!

Cody doubled back along his trail, hoping to throw his pursuers off the scent. He had no idea which direction he was going now, but he was certain somehow that he would end up Predside. Fear was a helluva crazy driver, but it did seem to know where it was going.

He looped around the pool, then started zig-zagging across the camp towards his goal. Past buildings and trees and screaming people. None of them mattered. They were nothing more than obstructions. Roadblocks. Speedbumps! Before he knew it, the Pred bunkhouses were in sight. Ha HA! Accurate as an arrow! And he hadn't seen a hair from those two brutes who'd been chasing him. Home run number two!

He leapt up the steps of one of the bunkhouses and crashed headfirst into the door. He saw pretty stars for a second. 'Pull, dummy!' his mind reminded him.

Once inside, plenty of Predkids shrieked at his obviously batshit appearance. "Don't mind me, you murderous fucks! Just passing through!" he shouted.

What he needed... what he needed... A-HA! There it was. He snatched a Predator blue uniform off somebody's endtable. Camouflage!

Some doberman kid twice Cody's size tried to stand in his way. He soon got a faceful of Cody's shirt. "Orange you glad I don't have time to punch your lungs out?" Cody sang as he swept by.

Shirtless and still high as a kite on adrenaline and pure craziness, Cody barely slowed down long enough to pull the blue shorts up over his own pair. He ended up hopping rather acrobatically for a few steps. He tugged the shirt over his head, then started looking around for a place to hide. The gate was somewhere near here. So he should hide someplace where he could keep it in his line of sight. 'Good idea, brain' he thanked himself.

His head swiveled around in every direction. He smelled breakfast. Breakfast. Their cafeteria! It might have some kind of little alcove or something he could squish himself into for a few hours! He ran towards the scent of bacon, wishing he had time to run in and grab some. Not caring whether it was made out of nonevs or classmates.

He circled the building, observing everything in a frenzy. Whoopee! Up there! There was a second floor to the place, probably storage space. There was a window! An open one!

The front and back of the building had a porch-like area where the sloping roof overhung. Without an instant's hesitation, Cody ran towards one of the roof supports and started shinnying up. He swung himself up and over. This was the back of the building. Everyone else was going in the front way. No one would see him. This was genius!

Cody ran along the roof to gain momentum. The window he'd seen had a ledge that jutted out a bit. Cody did not think about what he was going to do, he simply knew he was going to do it. Was already doing it. Could not back out of doing it. He ran to the far edge, then looped around, back towards the window. He hoped the distance was as short as it had looked from the ground. If not, he was about to find out!

With all his speed, Cody ran towards empty air. Then jumped.

His hand caught the edge of the roof and his claws dug in.

Centripetal force slung him around in a circle and he found himself flying through the open window, banging the shit out of his head, lower back and left leg as he did so.

And that didn't even cover all the stuff he hit when he crashed into the floor and all the stored food.

Cody ended up a knot of scrambled pain crumpled on the wooden floor with pancake mix pouring down on him from where he'd tore open one of the big cardboard boxes. He was giggling insensibly.

'Now, if by a miracle no one saw me do that, and no one downstairs heard me crash as loud as an airplane taking off, and if none of my bones are actually broken, and if I'm not bleeding to death right now and don't realize it, I should be fine!'


*****


The cafeteria staff downstairs had heard a WHUMP from up in the attic, soon followed by a crash of glass. A coyote went up to investigate. She checked all around but didn't find any intruders. She did find a bigass mess near one of the windows and grumbled to herself as she swept it up. Considering the trail of floury footprints leading to the opposite window, it seemed like their vandal hadn't stayed long. She went back downstairs to report the incident to the rest of the staff.

Shivering all over, Cody pushed open the meat freezer's top and crawled out as fast as his numb limbs would propel him. He shuddered on the floor as he sucked in deep breaths and blew on his hands. He hoped none of his fingers were gonna get frostbite and fall off. Or his toes, or his tail. His extra pair of shorts had probably helped prevent him from winding up with a pair of permanent snowballs.

When he'd heard someone approaching the stairs a moment ago, he had scanned the entire attic for a place to hide. First though, he ran through the pancake mix towards the window, stopped, pulled his shoes off, and walked in socks over to the only cover he could see. There were five freezers lined up against the wall. Luckily, the first one he'd opened was half-full of nothing more gruesome than frozen pizza. He thought he might have gone permanently insane if he'd had to hide on a pile of Prey body parts.

The all-consuming madness he'd been swept up in a few minutes ago was gone now. But the fear was still there. All the time he'd been peeking at that coyote woman sweeping, trying to force her telekinetically to just go the hell back downstairs, his brain had kept pestering him with the question, 'am I real or not?'

Was there a metal replica of himself up in his skull? Was he thinking with nanobots right now? And did that mean the real Cody was dead and he was nothing more than a robot replica?

The worst part was that there was no way to tell. Well, there was *one* way. But he wasn't quite ready to drill a hole through his skull to see what color leaked out.

Once he was able to move his extremities again, Cody weakly pulled himself up and sat on top of the freezer until he was able to stop shivering. He pulled his shoes back on, giving his fingers something to un-numb themselves with. He looked around, trying to figure out if anything up here was actually edible. He was hungry and thirsty as hell. But everything in the little storage attic was just pre-food: mixes, concentrates, canned goods, individual ingredients. He guessed all the fresh stuff was kept downstairs.

The first thing found that he could actually eat right away was a case full of bagged chocolate chips for baking. He ripped one open and gobbled a mouthful. The sweetness was wonderfully calming. He went to go sit in the corner and nibble on them. Damn, he wished he had something to drink with these.

After a brief 'breakfast', he tied a knot in the chip bag and scouted around more thoroughly. There was stuff in here he could *potentially* eat, but he'd have to be pretty desperate. Raw sugar? Soup mix? There were probably better stuff in some of the unmarked boxes, but he didn't have the energy to go around ripping open every single one.

The attic was dim and cool and that was nice. Cody dragged a pallet of boxes over to the window so he could sit comfortably and keep an eye on the gate. It had to open sometime.


*****


Time passed, and Cody's mind wandered.

He watched Predkids running by outside the window. Laughing and talking just like his friends. He imagined their shadows stretching out behind them to reveal the monsters they'd eventually become. Breaking through the Fences with wire cutters at midnight to go grocery shopping in Prey families' homes. Looming over sleeping furs with moonlight reflecting on their knives and their drool.

Cody's hands itched. He didn't know if it was from being in the freezer so long or if it was a side effect of the Newbrain which might or might not have infected his head.

He thought about Kenny. Had he really punched his only remaining friend's lights out just a few minutes ago? Apparently he had. His knuckles definitely felt like they'd been impacting *something* recently. Cody tried to ignore guilt's insistent pull though. Like with Rick, friendship mattered nothing when that red armband went on. If someone marked themselves as the enemy, they had no right to not expect an attack. This was war.

Cody had to pee. That meant Cody had to wait an excruciatingly long time for breakfast to finish and the cafeteria to clear out before he could venture downstairs in search of a toilet. When everything was silent below, he eased himself down the steps in slow-motion, wincing at every creak. Thankfully, the place was empty except for two janitors sweeping the floor. Cody easily eluded them and located a bathroom. Liquid cargo was unloaded successfully.

Then it was time to explore the kitchen. He checked all the fridges until he came upon a goldmine. He stood with the door open, enjoying the pleasant coolness, as he downed an entire soda in a matter of gulps. He grabbed a few more for later. In another fridge he found some fresh produce and started gnawing on a raw green pepper. He figured he might be missing nutrients or something from having consumed nothing but snacks the day before.

He also found some items that might potentially be very useful. One was a long-nosed lighter for starting barbecues. The tip produced a dancing flame whenever Cody gave it a click. The other thing he found was a knife. Not too long and not too short. Just the right size for his hand. Just the right size for making people get out of his way.

He snuck back upstairs and resumed his post at the window. For a moment he was consumed with certainty that the gate had opened and closed again while he'd been downstairs. But looking closely, he could see that the sand in front hadn't been disturbed. Not one grain. 'Get it together, brain,' he warned himself.

He drank another soda and thought about the foxgirl from his 'dream'. Had she been real? The obvious answer was no. For starters, she was too much of a caricature. He knew exactly what the Preds had done: create someone whose hatred for the other side went even beyond his own. Set him up to fight her, then terrify him into seeing the 'error' of his ways. And it had worked. Briefly. For a moment there, he had seen her not as Pred, or as an enemy, but as someone who was as real and alive as he was. Ha. Then again, the Preds might have *based* her on a real furson. Cody had seen a foxgirl who looked like her before, but couldn't place where. The soccer game, maybe? It was hard to tell; all foxes looked alike.

Wow, he'd actually forgotten until just now that he'd crushed Tycho's hand! He wasn't sure he remembered why either.

A bird flew by the window and landed on the sill for a moment.

Cody ate a few more chocolate chips. His stomach was starting to feel all knotted up and twisty.

How many days had he been here? Cody blinked. For the life of him, he couldn't remember. Five? Eight?

Cody wondered if there was some way to counteract the Newbrains. Maybe an electromagnetic pulse? Obviously, he didn't have one just gathering lint in his pocket. But maybe the military could set one off. Shut those living drones down from the air. Of course, that would mean that everyone who had one would keel over dead. They'd fall down like dominoes. Motionless kids and adults scattered all over the grass everywhere. And if Cody's suspicions were right, that'd include him too. He gulped. 'Better than the alternative though.'

Cody's back was starting to ache. How long had he been sitting in the same position? He scooted over some boxes behind him to lean against. He thought about maybe resting his legs on the windowsill, but thought someone might spot him if he did.

Outside, he thought he could see the tippy-top of the rock-climbing wall, over behind some classroom buildings. His heart hit him with a pang of regret.

Would it be possible to sneak out of here sometime after lunch and get back to the tower? Maybe not to stay there. The Preds definitely knew about it now. But his books were still up there. He wanted to take at least two of them with him when he left. Could he possibly justify taking that risk though? They were just books after all. Hell, he could just find them and buy them at a store when he got home.

He wondered how the GPA had managed to break into every signal in the country on Broadcast Day. Did they just have a really, really big antenna somewhere?

Dad had let Cody help him fix the car once. Cody had tried his best but still managed to spill motor oil all down the driveway in a long black snaky trail. Dad had gotten pissed for a moment, then just laughed good-naturedly and told Cody to clean it up. Embarrassed as hell, Cody had done an extra-good job, making sure there wasn't a drop left in sight. He ended up utterly filthy from head to toe. He'd accidentally left a black footprint on the livingroom carpet as he walked in to wash off. He could still faintly see it there every time he came home from school.

Shit, it was really scorching this afternoon. Cody felt like someone had upended a trough full of hot mashed potatoes right into his skull. The breeze through the window was nice, but not nearly enough. He wished he had a little fan up here, but someone definitely would have heard that downstairs.

'Does this uniform smell different than the ones we got?' Cody sniffed it. There was a hint of Predstink on it. Or maybe he was just imagining it.

'How long am I going to be able to sit up here before someone finds me?' Maybe when they did, they'd just take him directly into the kitchen and feed him face-first through a deli slicer.

As second class started, Cody watched the good little Predkids all going to class to receive their lessons. He imagined one of the GPA members standing at the front of the room, pointing out choice cuts on a butcher's chart. And the meat wasn't a nonev cow: it was him. Or Kenny or Frank or Yolanda. He wondered if the Predkids really did have Prey teachers, like that mousewoman in his dream, or if it was just another lie they were trying to put into his head.

Cody finished off the bag of chocolate chips. Then he became violently nauseous. He ran downstairs and upchucked until his ribs were sore. It was a miracle no one spotted him, as the place was full of cooks getting lunch ready for hungry Predkids. Cody gulped water from the sink afterwards, trying to get the taste of chocolate, bile and green pepper out of his mouth. It took all his courage to open the door a crack and peek out to see if the coast was clear. It was, and without hesitation the young chipmunk bolted back upstairs. He hid in the pizza freezer for five minutes just to be sure no one would come up to investigate. After how overheated he'd been prior to puking, the total cold felt kind of nice.

Back at the window, Cody stared at the gates so hard he imagined twin flamethrowers growing from his eyes to just burn the goddamn things down. He wondered how many weeks it'd take to carve through those huge logs with just the dinky knife he had. He tried that trick where you stabbed between each of your outstretched fingers, getting faster and faster as you went back and forth. He quickly gave it up though. The cut wasn't big, but tasting blood after throwing up is mighty unpleasant. He drank his last flat, warm soda.

'That's the biggest grasshopper I have ever seen.'

He wondered if the Preds had gotten the Newbrain chair operational yet. He'd seen them working on it last night. If nothing else, he must have at least delayed them a little.

Sweet fuck it was hot up here...

He saw a kid walk past whose species he was completely at a loss to identify. He wasn't sure if the guy was from another part of the world or if the heat was just making him drowsy.

Aunt Cherise's backyard was enormous. Full of trees and little hills and a creek with this great big rock he could sit on and dangle his feet in the water. He could catch frogs there. He usually let them go. But one time when he was little, he'd squeezed one really hard to see what would happen. What Cody remembered most about that next moment of horror was the *colors* that had come out of that thing's insides as it died.

'I'm so thirsty, I think I'd drink someone's piss if they offered it to me.'

Cody thought of one way to test if he had a Newbrain or not. He could just slap a refrigerator magnet on his forehead and see if it stuck! He laughed and it hurt his dry throat.

What time was it?

Someone downstairs had their radio on too loud. Or maybe they were buffing the floor. Some kind of bass vibration. It was annoying as hell.

What if, when he escaped, as soon as he got a hundred yards from this place, he ran into some Pred hikers? What if they caught him and made a campfire and had a cookout? Cody pictured them roasting his feet and hands over the flame like marshmallows.

Cody saw a mosquito on the windowsill and took great delight in destroying it with his thumb.

When he was little, there was this fair Daddy had taken him to. And the horses on the merry-go-round had had these wide, staring eyes and huge open mouths and it had given him nightmares for days.

Outside, a bunch of Pred kids were playing soccer. It looked like fun. Until Cody had a brief hallucination that they were kicking around someone's skull.

His sweat ran in sticky, gummy lines down through his fur. He could smell his own sour flesh.

If he had a machine gun, he could just run right through this place, mowing down Preds like picking dandelions. Wait. What did that even mean?

Cody risked taking his eyes off the gate for a few minutes so he could go lie in the freezer for a while again. Ahhhhhh... Relief...

There was a poster hanging on the wall inside the building directly across from his window. Cody couldn't read it. Something about shoes? No.

'Sometimes I hate myself so much I want to cry.'

What month was it?

His mosquito bites were itching like mad. Cody scratched and scratched and wished he could just carve the damn things out with a potato peeler.

Was that the foxgirl down there, walking past one of the bunkhouses? Naw, couldn't be. She was a scripted hallucination.

The smell of Cody's blue shirt was starting to make him want to puke again.

Cody's mom had only been around for a few years while he was little. If Cody remembered her face at all, it was more from photographs than from actual memories. He did remember the fighting though. Long, long arguments he'd overhear in his bedroom at night. His mother didn't like how Dad was always having to travel, how he was gone for months or years sometimes. Finally, she left him. Walked out. What the hell kind of stupid bitch would give up on a guy like Dad? What kind of a cunt could do that to him?

Cody felt like the mosquitos were biting him from inside his skin now.

He saw a truck coming down the road towards the gate.

He wondered if there was anything in the kitchen he could wrap himself in and wiggle through the holes in the wiredome without getting paralyzed like last time. Tinfoil maybe? Nah, he'd look like a space potato.

He wondered if he could sneak back downstairs again and get a drink. Fucking hell, he was thirsty.

Something about that fox woman teacher Vera he was trying to remember... Something she'd said. About what? It seemed important but his brain just wasn't letting him-

Wait.

WAIT.

Cody had been staring out the window for hours now without seeing a goddamned thing. But that! That was a TRUCK! It was driving TOWARDS THE GATES!

That meant the gates were going to OPEN!!!

He had to move fast. He had to move FAST, FAST, FAST!!! Not caring at all who saw him, Cody pounced from his box seat and practically flew down the stairs. He passed several startled cafeteria workers, one of whom dropped an armload of plastic trays all over the floor, making a hell of a racket. Cody ignored everything unimportant. He jumped over tables, making a beeline for the door. He had to get to the gate in time. The truck had been a few hundred yards away when he'd first seen it, but now it was far too close. He only had seconds to spare.

Cody burst through the cafeteria door and found himself outside. For a moment he was utterly disoriented. His head swam in the bright light and heat. Which way was the gate? Shit! He forced himself to stand still for a moment and collect his thoughts. He'd been sitting upstairs, looking through... he scanned the cafeteria's roof... THAT window. Which meant-

THAT way! He took of running again.

Most people who saw him only registered a blue blur is it went flying past and assumed it was just another Predkid. His decision to swipe a uniform had been a good one. Cody detoured around a classroom building to avoid a GPA guard he saw up ahead. He wasn't sure, but he thought he'd seen a gun on the guy's belt. Cody knew his brain was in a bad, weird place right now so he'd need to be careful. And quick. Quick was more important than anything right now.

Where was he!? Oh shit, was he lost? He couldn't be lost! SHIT! 'No, no. Wait. You turned left, now just turn left again and then again and you're back on the path. Right.'

Cody saw the wiredome coming closer. He just had to get past a few more buildings and he was free.

FREE. It seemed impossible. He'd been trapped in this camp for weeks. As soon as he got past those gates, he was going to run all the way back home and call the government and get them to fly the army out so they could firebomb this place to a crater full of black glass!

Cody turned the last corner. The gate was in sight.

And it had already closed.

The chipmunk skidded to a stop. A little cloud of dirt dust swirled around his feet. He stood there, staring, looking like a horrified mannequin.

From the tracks in the sand, the truck had already passed through. He could even hear it snorting away somewhere down the path. He'd never had a chance to get here in time. He had run himself ragged, making his lungs feel like old, brittle deflated balloons, and it had all been for nothing.

"No..."

It wasn't fair. He'd run as fast as he could. He'd done everything he could. He'd been waiting for this moment for days on end. It wasn't fair. It wasn't fair.

Still standing, still staring, Cody began to scream as he felt fate laughing at him.


*****


'Well, fine,' he decided as he snapped back to reality. 'If I can't escape, I'll just do what I can to make them wish I had.'

Cody patted his pockets. He felt the lighter on one side and the knife on the other. He'd wrapped the blade in clingfilm to keep it from gouging his knee. Now, he took it out, unwrapped it, and let the transparent crumpled plastic tumble away in the breeze.

The knife felt good in his hand. He could think of nothing more in this world he wanted to do than to use it. He felt the beginnings of a searing headache poking him in the side of the skull and he tried to ignore it.

From behind him, he heard a shout. He looked to see that the GPA guard from before had spotted him. He was even a Prey in a Pred's uniform. Disgusting. Cody's knife hand twitched. But even though the 'gun' on the man's belt was only a walkie-talkie after all, Cody had just enough sanity left to realize that this wasn't the time or place. He was standing out in the open with no cover. If he was going to go to hell and drag someone else down with him, better to find a way to make it really count.

All this flashed through his mind in the instant before he started running again. Despite the crackly pain in his throat, despite the swimmy nausea of possible heatstroke, his brain had instinctively turned to follow the path the truck's tracks had made in the dirt. 'Good boy, brain,' Cody thought. 'You're not completely melted yet, I see.'

The tracks. The truck. Obviously it had to be carrying something important. If the gate stayed closed that often, it meant the Preds restricted their deliveries to the barest minimum. So what could be that important?

Cody leapt to the side and rolled behind a group of bushes as he heard the shouting guard approaching. Out of sight (and glad for the momentary shade) he watched the stupid bastard run right past him.

He didn't have any problem finding the tracks again. The truck's fat tires had sculpted intricate geometric patterns into the path. For the tracks to be that deep, Cody guessed the truck had to have been loaded down pretty heavy.

Cody had a lightbulb moment.

It all made sense now. Weapons. The truck was full of weapons. This whole time, all the nice Pred teachers had been pushing the message of acceptance and tolerance. But only to the Preys. On the Pred side, they had been teaching combat. They were training little soldiers. And now it was time for target practice. That truck was full of guns. They would be passed out to all the Predkids and they'd swarm the Prey side of camp. The blood would be waist-deep by the time it was all over.

Cody forced himself to run a little faster.

'It all makes sense now. It all makes sense.'

Cody was so focused on the enormity of this new knowledge, and on keeping his eyes glued to the tracks, that he nearly went toppling into a half-cartwheel faceplant when someone behind him shouted, "HEY!!"

That VOICE! It was IMPOSSIBLE!

Nevertheless, he heard delicate footsteps running towards him before he could get himself turned around. And when he did, there was the fur like red velvet and the eyes he had stared into as he'd died.

Cody immediately dropped into a fighting stance. He remembered what this girl had done to him. To his balls. Even if it had been just a dream, he sure as hell wasn't letting that happen again.

Petra held her paws up, dead terrified of that knife the Preyboy was holding. "Calm down! What the hell are you doing here? Why are you dressed like us!?"

"Shut up!!" Cody snapped. "You're not even real!"

She tilted her head sideways. "What!?"

The chipmunk's eyes slowly widened. Assuming he wasn't in the midst of another implanted memory right now (which seemed unlikely, since there was no way the Preds could have known about some of the stuff he'd been remembering as he sat by the window), this fox really was standing right in front of him. Which meant she was real. Which meant...

Cody suddenly grabbed her shoulders, looking straight into her eyes. "You're here and you recognize me? What happened the last time you saw me!?"

Petra was scared more than a little shitless. Especially to have that blade so close to her. She'd been skipping class to sit in the shade and do some hard thinking, when suddenly that chipmunk boy had run past. Even though the look in his eyes unsettled her, she understood his confusion. She hadn't been totally sure he was real either. "We were on the table. They cut off our heads and we died together."

Cody nodded. "Right. So they gave you the same memory they gave me."

"Wait, what?"

"Implanted memories," Cody insisted. "It's the only explanation that makes sense."

Petra wasn't so sure about that. "You didn't answer me. What are you doing out here?" Her eyes kept darting to the shiny little knife he held.

"I was trying to escape. Trying to get the fuck out of here before the gates closed back up. But I was too late. See the tracks? A truck got through here and I know what's on it."

"What?"

Cody looked behind her. He didn't see the guard, only a few other Predkids who were staring at him warily, but that didn't mean the guard might not show up again at any second. "I'll explain on the way. Come on!" He grabbed her hand and started running.

Petra almost tripped. She barely managed to keep up with the crazy chipmunk boy. "LET ME GO!"

"Be quieter and I will," he snarled, flicking her hand away. "Just _listen_. If they fucked with your head, then you know. They're our biggest enemy in here. Not me, not you. Them. And what's on that truck is gonna make a whole bunch of people dead."

She gulped. "How do you know that?"

He groaned at having to explain everything to her. "I've been watching," he said simply.

The tracks finally forked off the path and turned towards a warehouse-looking place just beside the cafeteria. He could see it parked at the entrance; a big six-wheeled military transport with GPAs crawling all over it. Cody backed up a bit to hide behind the side of another building. He took a moment to catch his breath. He was panting like a motherfucker. "Keep still," he told Petra.

"What's in the truck, Cody?" she whispered.

He was surprised she remembered his name. "Guns, I think. Definitely weapons of some kind. I think there's going to be a massacre later."

"Are you sure? I mean, all Mrs. Lyubov does in class is talk about how we all need to get along and respect everyone's right to life and blablabla."

Cody turned his head to give her a 'don't question me' look. He risked a quick peek around the corner. He could see GPAs unloading crate after crate from the back of the truck. "I don't have time for this. Listen, I'm going to go do whatever I can to destroy whatever they've got in those boxes. They've put you through the same shit they did to me, and I'm taking a chance that you're the only one in this camp who understands me."

She didn't. She sure as hell didn't. But the urgency in his voice seemed sincere. He seemed to really believe this was a matter of life and death.

Cody faced her, pleading with his eyes. "Can I trust you?"

She gulped. "I... I guess so."

Cody held up the knife. The implication was clear. "I need a 'yes' or a 'no'. Either help me or run away, but if you lie to me, I'll cut you open right here right now."

The foxgirl backed up a step. "Put that down. P-please."

"YES or NO," Cody repeated. "Like I said, you can run if you want. Or you can help me. Which is it?"

Petra had serious doubts that he would let her simply walk away. The thought of turning her back on him for even a second seemed like a really bad idea. Agreeing seemed smarter. "Okay, fine. Yes. You can trust me."

He nodded and lowered the knife. He didn't smile, but he felt relieved. Being surrounded on all sides by hundreds of enemies is not a good feeling, but at least now he had one ally. "Allright then. Thank you. Now I'm gonna need you to be my lookout. And I'm gonna need a distraction." He checked around the corner again. "The Preds are still there. I need them gone. Can you do that?"

"I think so."

He tilted his head warningly.

"I will!" she quickly corrected. "I will, okay!?"

Cody nodded. "Good." Petra started to run past him, but he grabbed her arm again. A little more roughly than he'd intended. He relaxed his grip. "What are you planning? We've gotta be on the same page."

His touch sent icicles of fear rippling through her. "I'm just gonna tell them the truth: that I saw some crazy Prey kid with a knife running past. But I'll lead them over towards the athletic field, then try to circle back around."

"Good. Excellent." This girl was smart and adaptable. He'd made a good choice taking a chance on her. "Go on, and good luck."

"Good luck to you too," she said. Her heart was split into jagged fractions. That knife he was holding scared her, and the haunted, unstable look in his eyes scared her worse. But he didn't seem consumed with rage. He seemed to be thinking at least somewhat clearly. He was acting like some action movie guy about to go off on a mission he knew he wouldn't return from.

Cody watched her skitter off in the direction of the Preds and the truck. He took deep breaths. His headache was worsening. It felt like someone had drilled a hole in his head and was now slowly inserting their fingers. He kept his back flat against the wall and kept his ears open.

"HELP, HELP!!" Petra shrieked.

Around the truck, three GPA members, Pred and Prey alike, stopped what they were doing to look in her direction.

She didn't have to work hard to fake a state of panic. "I saw this Preykid! He had a knife and he looked like he was gonna kill someone with it!!"

"Where!?" a skunk asked her.

"Over there!" she shouted.

Cody resisted with all his might the temptation to peek and make sure Petra wasn't pointing right where he was. He hadn't seen a lie in her eyes just now. But he'd been betrayed so many times already.

He made sure he had a strong grip on his knife despite how sweaty his hands were. If he heard anyone about to come around that corner, they were getting a metal surprise right between the ribs no matter who they were.

But Petra had been true to her word. Cody let out the breath he'd been holding when he heard the soldiers' booted feet tromping away in the opposite direction. 'She did it.' The little Pred hadn't switched sides and fucked him over. She'd been true to her word. That little moment of loyalty felt like an oasis in the desert.

Cody looked around the corner. The truck was unguarded. Perfect.

He sprinted towards it, looking around in all directions to make sure no one else was watching. When he reached the truck, he skidded to a stop, ducking down beside one of the back wheels. He panted for a few moments. He could feel his head throb with every breath. Out of a sheer desire to destroy something, he jabbed his knife into the tire. He knew it didn't matter much, but it felt good.

The warehouse beside the truck was absolutely packed with wooden crates. Pallets and pallets of massive, shrink-wrapped boxes. 'They can't all be guns,' Cody thought with disbelief. 'They can't possibly need this many.' But, oh god, what if they *did*? What if this wasn't just a training camp for Pred soldiers, but a stockpile!?

Cody's heart swelled. He might not just be saving the lives of his friends and the other Preykids. He might be saving a hell of a lot more than that.

He started looking around for an accelerant. A can of gas, a can of motor oil, anything. He was so, SO glad he'd thought to grab that lighter from the kitchen! He gave it an affectionate pat within his pocket.

There on the floor. Drips. Little black circles. The truck had parked here before and leaked some kinda fluid on the concrete. Cody knew from a science show he'd watched once that it was the fumes, not the actual liquid, that ignited during a gasoline fire. Maybe he could make more.

He darted back to the truck and started scanning around underneath. He was aware of every second passing. He had no idea how much time Petra had bought him, or if another GPA might just stumble upon him by pure, dumb accident. He spotted what looked like it had to be a gas tank. He steadied his grip on the knife. It was a dinky little kitchen knife, and he was about to try to cut through a truck with it. There were all sorts of ways this could go wrong. But the knife seemed sturdy for its size. It might do the job.

Cody shuffled himself into a position where he could get the maximum leverage into his arm. He drew it back, holding on tight to the knife. He mentally prepared himself just in case the blade snapped and took off half his hand.

He swung.

SHUNK.

He blinked. 'That was way easier than I expected.'

Cody's aim was true and, luckily, the GPA had not skimped on quality food preparation utensils. The knife had slid through the gas tank easily and little drops were now running down the edge onto Cody's wrist.

'I am going to end up rolling on the ground engulfed in fucking flames,' he realized. Oh well. It was worth it to save the world.

He let the gas puddle for a bit. He took out the lighter and realized it had a little switch on the bottom. 'PERFECT!' he thought in jubilation. The button could be locked in place! He gave it a click, flicked the switch to the side, and the flame stayed right there on the tip when he released the trigger. Oh, this was working out better than he'd ever expected!

He heard footsteps. _Running_ footsteps. 'Shit. No time left.' Cody backed up as far as he could while still allowing for an accurate throw. The friendly little flame was still dancing on the tip of the lighter. Gasoline was drip, drip, dripping in a glistening yellow pool beneath the truck. The makers of the footsteps would be upon him any second.

'Now or never.'

Cody threw the lighter.

For a fraction of a second he thought, 'That was anticlimactic,' as the lighter touched off a bright but relatively small fireball. Then it spread. So fast and so fiercely that half the truck was a blazing ball in less time than it took to blink.

Cody found himself sprawled on his ass in the grass, blinking in pain at the searing heat and intense light, and laughing at the top of his lungs.

'No time to celebrate!' he reminded himself. He had to get the fuck out of here. The soldiers would be back any second.

He lunged to his feet and started running. It was too bad he'd sacrificed the lighter, but at least he still had the knife. Maybe he could get to the Preyside cafeteria and find something else to start a fire with. Maybe burn up that medical building. Or Miss fucking Vera's classroom!

As soon as he turned the corner, rough hands grabbed his shoulders.

"NO! NO!!!" Cody howled. He fought like a wildcat. He screamed and twisted and threw punches in every direction.

The skunk guard had a hell of a time holding him down. "Gordy, Help me with this little pyromaniac bastard! Devin, find a fire extinguisher NOW!!"

Another GPA, a panther, reached for a pouch on his belt. He pulled out what looked like an oxygen mask. Cody's eyes widened in terror as he realized that the Pred meant to use it on him.

The chipmunk doubled his ferocity. He tossed his head back and forth, screaming and trying to find something to bite down on. He kicked the skunk's shins repeatedly. He tried to make a grab for the knife in his pocket, but the bastard was holding his arms. If he could only get the knife! If he could just get in one good swing!

The panther grabbed onto Cody's neck and held the mask-thing in the general area of the struggling kid's muzzle.

"NO! NO! NO! NO!"

Cody thrashed and fought, knowing he'd be dead in seconds if he didn't.

But then the mask was on him. He couldn't smell or taste what came out of it, but he heard the hiss of gas being released.

"BE STILL!" the panther roared at him. "BE STILL, DAMMIT!!"

Cody tried to fight it, but to his overwhelming horror, his body went still.

The gas. The kidnapping gas. The obeying gas.

He remembered fighting against it before, that first day. How utterly helpless he was to resist it. They had him. He was caught. They were going to take him away to kill him now and he had no chance of resisting.

Tears ran down from the corners of Cody's eyes.

'At least I stopped them,' Cody thought, trying not to let despair destroy him. 'At least I burned their damn truck. At least I must've gotten rid of *some* of their guns.'

The panther held the mask to his face for a few more seconds, just to make absolutely sure. "Stand up straight," he ordered.

Cody obeyed.

"Now start walking, kid."

Cody obeyed.

'Goodbye, Dad,' he thought. 'I hope if you ever find out what I did here, you'll be proud of me. I miss you. I love you. I wish I could have seen you one more time. But at least I hurt them back before they got me.'

As the two soldiers marched him away from the sounds of fire and people desperately trying to put it out, Cody saw Petra up ahead. She was standing with her tail between her legs. Another GPA guard was by her side. And just behind her, hand on the girl's shoulder, was Miss Vera.

He felt something collapse and die inside his heart. He had trusted the fox. And just like all the others...

He was unable to disobey the first command to be still, so he couldn't even look in the foxgirl's eyes as he passed. He couldn't glare at her with all the hate she deserved for backstabbing him when he needed her most.

The look she gave him was one of aching sadness. 'I'm so sorry,' she said without words.

Cody knew she couldn't hear it, but inside his mind he sent her a message. 'More people will die because you betrayed me. If I ever get free, you'll be one of them, I promise.'

Cody did not speak a single word or put up the slightest resistance as the two soldiers led him all the way across the camp. All the way to a familiar schoolroom, where a familiar chair was waiting for him.

The Newbrain chair. Fixed up as good as new.

With all his heart, Cody wished he could at least scream as they strapped him in.





--Chapter Fourteen--


When the two soldiers left, they turned out the lights.

For almost half an hour, Cody sat in the dimly-sunlit room by himself. Unable to move. Unable to speak. Unable to do anything but think.


*****


Cody heard a door open.

He'd been sitting in silence for so long the sound startled him. Yet he didn't flinch or even twitch. He had been told to be still, and no matter how much he'd fought his own body with every ounce of will he possessed, he could not help but obey.

The Newbrain chair had been put back where it was before, beside Miss Vera's desk. Behind Cody was the blackboard. He stared out onto rows of empty desks, watching dust motes dance in the sunlight which made it through the room's half-shaded windows. The door was behind him, so he could not see who had entered. But he recognized the tap-tap-tap of their shoes as they came closer.

Vera didn't speak a word as she walked behind him and briskly snatched up her deskchair. She circled around. Dropped it in front of him with a small clatter.

His face was blank. But hers held a tight, pinched expression; a woman who has reached the absolute limits of her patience.

Her grey tail swirled around in a circle as she sat down backwards in her chair, arms crossed and resting on the seatback. For a few moments, she did nothing but stare into Cody's eyes.

He wished he could yell, spit, look away, anything. Her gaze felt like tiny hands reaching in and trying to open him up.

It was a long time before she spoke. Her voice was barely above a whisper when she did. "Well, Mr. St. John, you've succeeded. You have succeeded in killing any last hope I had for you."

She watched his eyes darting around in his still face. It wasn't fair to keep this up anymore. "The gas has already worn off," she told him. "Remember the post-hypnotic aftereffect I mentioned? It's the only thing keeping you stuck like that. You can move now."

He wasn't inclined to believe _anything_ this woman told him right now, but it couldn't hurt to give it a try. 'You can move again,' he told himself. Nothing happened. It was like some mornings when he'd try to will himself up out of bed but his body wouldn't listen. 'Move! She said you could! Do it!! You've fucking been through this before!' He tried to twitch his fingers but it was like tiny weights were hanging from them. Finally, with a massive effort, he simply broke through. Both hands flexed, his head snapped forward and he let out a bray of release.

He moved his lips and tongue to make sure they responded, but he didn't reply yet. The fox woman probably expected him to curse at her or thrash around in his restraints. He defied her expectations purely for the sake of defiance.

Besides, he'd already thought about this. He was in a Newbrain chair. It was obvious what they planned to do with him. He'd thought execution at first, but no; the GPA worked by recruitment. Forced recruitment. The only good thing about being in this chair was that it was pretty good proof they hadn't already swapped his brain out. One less worry. But he remembered Vera telling Yolanda to keep still during the procedure. If he had to, when she cut the hole in his head and stuck the hose in, he would thrash and buck and twist his head back and forth and not stop for anything. It was his last chance. Better to end up braindead or retarded than become one of them.

Vera waited for a response from Cody, but all he did with his newfound freedom of movement was to stare back at her with the naked contempt an inmate shows an executioner. "We're not going to kill you for what you've done, Cody," she reassured. Her undertone conveyed, 'Even though some of us may want to.'

"I already figured that out," he said. He kept his words calm and well-enunciated. If everything ended here, he wanted to face it with dignity. "You don't want me dead. You want me to betray myself and join you. I'm telling you it won't happen. I will fight you until the last beat of my heart. I will fight you until I force you to kill me, if I have to."

Vera shook her head. There was a part of her that admired his bravery, and another part that knew bravery in pursuit of insanity is meaningless. "You've already proven that, Cody. _Abundantly_. I'm here to try to convince you one last time before we give up on you completely. It wasn't even my choice this time; my colleagues asked me to try one last go at it. Cody, I want to be done with you. You've hurt me too much."

He scoffed, almost a laugh. "I'VE hurt YOU!?"

Her eyes dared him to laugh again. "Yes, you have. From the first time you looked at me with burning hate, like all you wanted was to snap my neck. I just wanted to teach you and your classmates and ask you to help us fix the world. I'd hoped your rage would pass. I expected violence out of you from the start; I could see it in your eyes. And we've had violent company before. But you... You're something different. I don't have any idea what you are. I repeat, Cody: I Have No Idea What You Are. You are a complete mystery to me. I don't understand anything you do."

He looked at her like she was mentally defective. "What's there to not understand?"

Her hand curled briefly into a fist. "Everything! Nothing you do makes the slightest bit of sense to me! I have tried, time and time again, to predict what you'll do next, and I am _always_ wrong! You drive me up the wall, Cody!"

He smirked. "You're welcome."

The vixen looked away from him, disgusted. Of course he'd take that as a compliment.

Was she actually serious? Was she just trying to make him reveal his secrets? Cody couldn't tell. If she was acting, she was doing a fantastic job. But part of him knew, he really had pushed her to the edge. 'Well then, fine. If I fall, I take you over with me.'

He spoke with massive intentional condescension. "If you don't understand me, then let me make it plain. I hate Preds. I will always hate Preds, and I will always fight against them. From the second you trapped me in here, I have been trying to get out. My plan has always been to escape and tell the world about you."

She ran a hand through her hair in exasperation. "That's my POINT!" she snarled. "You SAY that, but your actions tell a completely different story!!"

Cody snorted. "They do not."

"Oh really, Mr. St. John? Would you care to switch roles then? Educate me? Because when I look at all you've done, I see nothing but chaos. Random pain and destruction with no purpose and no goal."

Cody felt a fire light inside him. It started in his ribcage and burned along his spine until his whole face was red-hot. "Everything I've done, I've done for a damn good reason," he ground out.

Vera nearly jumped up out of her chair and left the room. She felt like they were just going back and forth now, swinging sledgehammers into a solid steel wall between them. "Maybe the problem's just miscommunication then, hm? Maybe all of this is my fault. I tried to manipulate you. I tried to predict your path and guide you onto a better one. But I also tried being honest. I've always tried to be honest with you. And that didn't work either, because you won't listen to me no matter what."

He grinned flippantly. "Say something worth listening to then." He saw her arm twitch at that. She'd really wanted to slap him for that one! Awesome! His grin's width doubled.

Vera's breathing sped up and she tried to force it back to normal again. Getting angrier would help nothing. Descending into a shouting match would help nothing. She had to remain calm and choose her words carefully. She knew she could not get through to him, but she was not about to let him make her give up trying while she still could.

She closed her eyes for a second to cool down. "Allright, Cody. Let's see if I can."

He tried to lean forward, despite the leather strap around his head. 'This oughtta be good.' What bullshit was she going to try now?

She looked at him again, trying to focus on her disappointment in him instead of that smug, infuriating grin on his face. "Let's see if we can at least understand one another, because so far we are clearly seeing two distinctly different realities. I think mine's right and you think yours is. Let me tell you what I see, Cody, and you can tell me where I'm wrong, okay?"

There were so many snotty things he could reply to that, but that would be expected. Instead he just smiled and gestured with his hand: 'proceed.'

A nasty little idea occurred to Vera then. Something that just might strike a nerve in him. And the best part was that it was completely true. "Cody, from my perspective, you are the most Preddish boy I have ever met in my life."

That did it. Cody's calm arrogance fizzled in an instant. He lunged against his restraints, hands balled into fists. "TAKE THAT BACK! YOU LYING FUCKING BITCH! YOU TAKE THAT BACK!!!"

It was her turn to grin. "Oh, I'm sorry. Was that a little too true for you to handle?"

"NO IT'S NOT! IT'S A LIE!!"

She cocked her head to the side. "Let me tell you why I think so. See if you can argue with me then."

Cody let all his muscles relax. He slumped in the chair, panting with exertion. He'd fought against the straps so hard they'd bitten into the flesh of his ribs, wrists and forehead. It didn't feel very nice.

"For starters, do you remember my lesson on dominant and submissive personalities? Do you remember talking about the common stereotypes of Pred and Prey? Cody, you are a textbook Pred. You are endlessly aggressive and fiercely independent. You refuse to conform under any circumstances. You have the mind of a hunter: a lone, fierce killer. I'm not saying that any of these traits are necessarily bad, but you have to admit, they're not the first things you imagine when someone says 'Prey'."

He glared at her. That was all true and he couldn't deny it, but it didn't mean anything. "You said it yourself, the stereotypes aren't always true."

"Oh, so you did pay a little bit of attention in my classes after all?" she sing-songed.

Cody gave her a grimace of disgust. "I act this way because I have to. My Dad trained me to *think* like you so I could *survive* you."

Vera 'hm'ed. "That at least makes sense in the context of your behavior. Although I meant it when I said your unpredictability drives me crazy. You've said umpteen times, with both voice and body language, how much you hate Preds. What makes me tear my hair out is how that attitude doesn't match your actions. Let's count the ways, shall we?" She held up her paw and started tapping off incidents.

"I remember watching you push your way up to my desk to threaten me after I'd said something you didn't like. I remember the hurt look in Trudy's eyes when you shoved her."

"I didn't mean to do that," Cody said, flinching a little.

"Perhaps. But I'm certain you meant what you did to Miss Tanondo. I wasn't there, but she described it to me. You hurt her as badly as shoving her down a flight of steps with what you said to her."

The chipmunk's cheeks flushed hot.

"Moving on, there was your first little rampage of destruction. You smashed the vending machines in your bunkhouse; I'm guessing as some sort of punishment against the others. Then you knocked over the Newbrain chair, which I'll concede is at least one consistent thing you've done. But then when a Pred caught you in the act, you ran right past him, not even touching him. Yet moments later, when you saw Rick Crosley, a Prey, running towards you on his morning jog, he told me you headed straight for him and nearly fractured his kneecap. Care to explain why? Because I'm baffled."

Cody tried to cross his arms in defiance, but the straps held them in place. He settled for looking as far away across the room as he could.

"Then you spent the day up in that old tower, and we let you because at least we knew where you were and you couldn't cause any more damage up there. Plus, I foolishly thought that maybe it would give you time to reflect and you'd come down repentant. Nope! Silly me! The first thing you did was jump on Walter Bennect and viciously beat him. He had a dislocated jaw and three loose teeth when we found him."

'If he'd kept his mouth shut, it wouldn't have happened,' Cody thought.

"Afterwards, I tried my last-ditch effort to reach you. And I was so happy. Even when you and Miss Penmark were beating the stuffing out of each other, at least it was predictable behavior! And then you seemed to be responding so well to the 'execution'. I saw real empathy in your eyes. I thought, 'This is it. He gets it. We might have another few relapses, but he's finally learned.'"

Vera sighed, and in her face Cody saw a depth of sadness emerge. It had always been there though, in the background. Her anger was simply gone. Burned out. No longer masking what she truly felt.

"Then I was told what you did after you woke up this morning," she said. "My heart broke, Cody. I had been so hopeful. I felt like I had been slapped in the face.

"You broke three of Tycho's fingers. You bruised up your friend Kenny so bad he looked like a purple eggplant. You split Jake's lip. You scared the living heck out of everyone else. And on your way out, for your grand finale, you managed to break Cameron's leg. I had to listen to him weep from the pain while we healed him, Cody. I had to listen to that."

Cody blinked. 'I don't remember that. She's just making things up again. Wait... Oh, shit. The bunkbed. I did hear a scream when I ran out...'

Vera continued. "When I heard you were headed towards the Pred side of camp, I thought, 'Oh no. This is it. He's going to kill them off like flies.' But again, I was wrong. On your journey over you managed two injure two more Preys, I'm guessing at random. But on the Pred side? No injuries reported. I was stunned."

Wait, no. He was sure he'd...

"What did you do instead? You hid for a while, then you saw the supply truck coming in and for whatever reason you decided to attack it. But you didn't do it alone. No, you asked for help. From a Pred! I thought you hated them, Cody?"

'No!' She was getting it all wrong!

"What exactly were you trying to accomplish with your little firestarter act, Cody? Trying to starve us?"

He looked at her, suddenly even more confused than before. "What?"

She threw up her hands. "You tell me. I don't get it."

"No; what did you mean, 'trying to starve us'? Were you gonna have a cookout with the bodies after you were done?"

She stared at him in utter incomprehension. "Cody, what are you talking about?"

He growled in frustration. "The GUNS, stupid! And stop looking at me like you don't know what I'm talking about! The guns in the crates! Why do you think I was trying to destroy them!?"

Her expression changed from confusion to disbelief to outright fear. "You thought there were guns in the crates... The crates on the supply truck?"

"YES!!! WHAT IS SO HARD TO UNDERSTAND ABOUT THAT!?"

She continued to stare. "Cody, those crates were full of *food*."

"BULLSHIIT!!!"

"Cody, they were LABELED! Each and every one! That's why Miss Penmark went looking for help. She'd believed you up till that point, but she saw for herself that the boxes were marked as being full of canned fruit and vegetables, and she led the guards away to get help stopping you!"

'Well, that explains that at least,' Cody thought hazily. His chest felt tight. There was no way the fox woman was telling the truth. He had looked directly at those crates. How could he have not seen the writing on them?

Or was it because he just wasn't looking? He simply _knew_ what was in them, so there was no need to look?

He shook his head violently. "You're lying."

No more shouting, she noticed. The reality was starting to sink in. Vera forced herself not to feel hope and have it destroyed for the dozenth time, but she thought that maybe a few more pushes would force him to see. "You have hurt a lot of people, Cody. Think back and remember them all. How many of them have been your 'enemy'? With the exception of Petra, I can't think of anyone but Prey you've hurt."

His mind rejected that so forcefully it was like a migraine spiking straight through him. "NO," he said. "That's a lie! Stop lying! What about Walter!?"

"You hate him because he dares to call himself Prey, don't you?"

Fuck, was she a mind-reader!? That had been almost the exact thought that had just gone through his head! Cody's breathing had sped up and his heart was pounding. "Stop lying," he pleaded again.

"You _wish_ it was a lie, Cody," Vera pressed on. "You don't want to face the fact that you're more of a Pred than I am. All the Prey you've hurt? All the punches and kicks you've thrown? What was the first thing you said when you arrived here? The very first thing? Tina told me. She said you looked right into her eyes and the words that came out of your mouth were, 'I'm going to kill every Pred here.' Tell me Cody, is that what a Prey does, or a Pred?"

"SHUT UP!!!" he screamed. He shut his eyes tight and shook his head and pulled against his restraints and ground his teeth together.

It was like watching a steam boiler getting closer and closer to exploding. Vera kept very still and spoke very clearly. "Cody... whose uniform are you wearing?"

Cody's eyes snapped open.

He looked down at himself.

Blue. Predator blue. Their color.

A dull, wavering moan came from his throat. And it rose. It intensified in depth and volume until it had become a feral scream of all-consuming terror.

Cody shrieked in short, terrified bursts of pure, maddened fear. He struggled as hard as he could in his restraints, trying to get away from the color that was on him. He kicked at the chair legs, looking like was trying to climb up out of his own skin.

Vera had a hand over her mouth, eyes wide in alarm. Had she gone too far? The boy looked like he was spiraling into permanent madness. He continued to scream. Vera worried her colleagues outside might think she was flaying him alive.

Cody's mind was a redblack void of flying, shattered glass. There were no thoughts. Mr. Rage was gone and this wasn't even Mr. Panic's doing. This went beyond panic. Cody had reached the absolute limit of the stress his body and mind could handle. Now he was simply free-falling. He felt like he was covered in burning acid and attacked by thousands of stinging insects. There was nothing in his mind except for an all-overriding desire to GET AWAY. But he couldn't. Not only was he strapped down, but there was no way for his consciousness to burrow out of his own body.

So he just kept on screaming until his voice gave out.

It was painful to watch. Agonizing. Vera's every instinct compelled her to stand up and stop this. She felt like a monster for sitting there doing nothing while this boy lost his mind. But she forced herself to keep sitting. Listening to his howls. Watching Cody suffer was her punishment as well.

With all that effort going towards an unattainable goal, Cody eventually succumbed to simple exhaustion.

One moment he was still struggling feebly to tear himself away from the proof of his ultimate failure, the next, he simply shut down. His arms and legs went limp. His head drooped onto his chest. A line of drool trickled down. If it weren't for the rise and fall of his breathing, he would have looked dead.

'An execution,' Vera thought. That's what it had looked like. Like watching someone get a few thousand volts shot through them in the electric chair: violent tension, then complete inaction.

She watched him breathe for a few minutes more. She had no idea what was going on in his head.

Then, against her better judgement, she stood up and moved closer. For all she knew, she might have just witnessed the death of Cody's rationality. At any second, his head might snap up and snarl at her with all the unthinking savagery of a rabid beast.

But, stupidly, she still wanted to hope that maybe it was his delusions that had died instead.

Trembling, she reached out her hand and gently patted his head.

That single gesture of comfort was what finally broke Cody completely.

She could not see inside his head. But she could see him stiffen up like a little bent statue. See his fists tense up. And see him start to cry.

He tried to hold it back. Tried not to allow it. Especially not in front of her. But he just couldn't anymore. His chest heaved. The stinging water came to his eyes and rolled down his cheeks like rain. He began to sob and sniffle and quietly wail with each breath. He had never cried this hard in his entire life, and he had also never tried this hard to stop himself.

For Vera, it was like watching a stone carving weep. Cody held himself rigidly stiff, trying to hold onto his dignity and masculinity. But his body had simply given up. In the end, it betrayed him too. In the end, like everyone else, it also got sick of carrying on his crusade, ceaselessly holding onto holy anger.

He simply couldn't take it anymore.

Vera stood beside him, nearly crying herself. She thought that maybe, her silly, impossible hope had paid off. Cody's sobs didn't sound like those of a madman. He sounded like someone who had just woken up from an achingly sad nightmare.

She patted him on the head again, then sat back down to wait.

She knew he would need some time to recover before he could speak again.


*****


"Are you calmer now?" Vera cautiously asked.

Cody had been quiet for a while now. He didn't look up at her.

"Yes," he said in a dead voice. He sniffed hard.

Vera got up and went over to her desk for a tissue. She held it below Cody's nose. "Here. Blow." He did, making a heckuva noise. She tossed the first tissue in the trash and wiped his nose with another. His eyes with a third.

Then she sat back down. "Maybe it had to happen this way," she said sadly. "Maybe you wouldn't have listened to anything else. Maybe you couldn't have. You're not a stupid boy, Cody. Far from it. You're very smart, and that's why you're so dangerous. Because smart people can take a bad idea and think of a million perfectly plausible-sounding reasons to keep on believing it. Despite all evidence. Despite anything anyone says."

Cody flinched.

"Did that hurt a little?" Vera asked.

A tiny movement that might have been a nod.

"It's not all bad, at least," she said. "The truck's a loss, but we saved some of the cargo. You didn't damage the Newbrain chair too much when you kicked it over. We were able to salvage the fluid. And it's not like we don't have several more chairs like this."

'I should have guessed that,' Cody thought to himself.

"Plus the vending machines you broke will be repaired and restocked by tomorrow." She lightly chuckled, adding, "Your friend Jayden is a bit of an opportunistic genius. We can't seem to prove it, but we think that he somehow discovered the broken machines before anyone else did, cleaned them out, hid everything somewhere we can't find, and has been selling it back to the rest of your classmates at a tidy profit."

Cody did manage a tiny smile at that. 'Jayden you amazing bastard.'

Vera had a momentary epiphany of her own. "Cody... I watched your reactions as I was listing all your various 'crimes', and the only thing I saw you seemingly deny was that you'd smashed the snack machines as a way to punish your bunkmates. It just occurred to me; you did it for purely practical reasons, didn't you? You *planned* to hide out in the tower all day, so you brought your own food and water."

Cody looked up at her, unsure whether he should admit to anything or not. Finally though, he nodded.

She blinked. "I almost have to admire the sheer forethought of that."

He cleared his throat. "Um... could I get some water?"

"Absolutely. Just give me a moment." She stood up and walked back to the desk. She always kept a little cooler there filled with water bottles so she could refresh her throat after a long lesson. She uncapped one and brought it to Cody. "I hope you'll forgive me for not letting you hold this yourself, but I'm not quite comfortable with unstrapping you yet."

He supposed that was understandable. He gulped gratefully at the nice cool water. He moaned in satisfaction. He hadn't realized till now just how thirsty he was. Sitting in the shady classroom had been kind of a relief after spending so long letting the afternoon sun cook him. And this was even better.

Vera held the bottle until Cody had drunk it dry. Some had spilled down his shirt and she moved to pat it with another tissue.

"Leave it. It's kinda refreshing," he told her.

She nodded and sat back down.

"How did you know I was up there in the tower?" he eventually asked.

"Oh, that's simple," she said. "We put microscopic tracking chips in all the food."

Cody's eyes bulged. "You WHAT!?" he shrieked.

His reaction startled the heck out of her. "Cody, no! I'm sorry, that was a JOKE! Oh, I'm an idiot... I shouldn't have tried to joke about that with you in this state. I'm sorry." She shook her head. "No, really, we knew about the tower because, well, we built the camp. We could have torn it down, but we figured we might have someone like you, who'd figure out how to climb up in it despite the damaged stairs. Someone who'd need a place to be apart from everyone else for a while." She smiled sympathetically. "That's why I argued with my colleagues to let you stay up there. I thought it might cool you down a bit."

"It did, actually," Cody admitted. "That's why I came down. That, and I was bored and my legs were all stiff. But then I saw Walter and I just... snapped. It was like what happened with Frank. I felt like someone else was in control of me."

Vera felt a ray of hope. He was starting to open up a little. "Cody, I'd really like it if you could tell me your side of the story. I don't want to punish you, I just want to understand you. There's so much I don't know about you, but I think I might be just starting to get a glimpse of your motivations. Please tell me. I promise I'll listen."

Cody looked up at her. She seemed sincere. And despite his brain's constant insistence that she was always lying to him, he couldn't offhand remember any specific time when she had. He thought that maybe he'd always assumed she was lying simply because she was a Pred, and that's what Preds did.

A new way of escaping this place occurred to Cody. It was the first time he'd ever considered it. Not by fighting or sabotage, but by just telling her his story. Telling her the complete, honest truth. Then maybe she'd let him go. Deep in his gut, he knew how unlikely that was. He knew it was possible she simply wanted information from him before her friends in the GPA had him for dinner.

But she was offering to listen. If it was manipulation, he had to admit she was good at it. It was an irresistible temptation. He'd felt so alone for so long. A prisoner in his own mind. He wanted to talk to someone.

So he did.

Vera sat and listened for a long time as Cody told his side of the past week's events. There were parts where she had to bite her tongue to keep from correcting the insane ideas he'd somehow accumulated. There were times when she had to sink her claws into the chair to keep from slapping him over some unbelievably hurtful thing he'd said about Preds. But the more he talked, the more she realized that this wasn't mere hatred she was seeing in him. It was _belief_. Rock solid belief. That was why it was so unshakable. Cody didn't just hate Preds, he wholly accepted it as a scientific fact that her kind were a constant threat to the life of everyone he loved. His hatred did not come from anger, but from a desire to protect. In a terrifying, tragic way, he believed himself a hero. And she found herself continuously surprised at the inarguably noble rationalizations behind some of his behavior.

Some of it was just plain terrifying though. His description of his rage as a separate entity, how it 'took over his driver's seat', chilled her to the bone. The boy was describing a kind of mental illness she could only describe as psychopathic. She realized that if it wasn't for his strong, if warped, code of morality, he could have done much, much worse things than he had. Panic and jealousy and frustration had driven him to near-unforgivable acts. Vera didn't even want to imagine what he might have done if he'd been committing violence for the sake of *enjoyment*.

When Cody got to the end of his story, describing why he had chosen to immolate the truck full of 'weapons', Vera found herself stunned at how easily he'd committed himself to giving up his life in service of what he believed to be a greater good. Where she had been seeing random, violent chaos, he had seen an attempt to save the world from evil.

She had walked in here prepared to excoriate this vicious child for all the destruction and suffering he'd caused. Now, she couldn't help but feel sorry for him. He had caused pain because he was so constantly consumed by it. It didn't excuse his actions, but at least she understood them now.

"So that's it," Cody finished. "Before you walked in, I'd just sat here scaring the shit out of myself for a while, imagining all the ways I thought I was gonna get tortured and killed."

"I hope you realize by now that's not going to happen," she replied comfortingly.

He nodded. Then he gave her a hard, accusatory glare. "...But I'm not in this chair just because you didn't have anywhere else to tie me up. You still want to pump my brain out."

She had nearly torn her hair out at his ludicrous declaration that *obviously* the GPA were giving everyone Newbrains to turn them into remote-controlled assassins. She'd wanted to go off on a rant, explaining to him all the ways that was not just wrong but impossible. But then she stopped herself. From his perspective, it really wasn't all that fantastical an assumption. She had to keep reminding herself that she and her colleagues had presented themselves as supervillains, and sometimes that choice didn't turn out so well when someone took them at their word.

"Yes, Cody," she admitted. "We're still hoping you'll accept a Newbrain. And after all you've told me about how your brain works, or rather how it sabotages you at every possible opportunity, I think you'd benefit from one in ways you can't even imagine right now."

He gave her a look that perfectly conveyed how very unconvinced he was.

She rolled her eyes. "Fine. I'll promise you this, Cody: I will not force one on you. We simply don't do that. But..."

"But you're going to anyway," he finished for her.

She snorted a little. "_No_. What I was going to say was that all of us reached a decision about you. All the first tier camp staff, that is. And I agreed with them this time." She sighed. "Cody, this is your absolute last chance. Absolutely final. We are giving you one more choice, and then that's it."

He narrowed his eyes. "What is it?"

"Our philosophy is, 'the fight is never over until your enemy is no longer your enemy'. And that has many interpretations. Our favorite one is where our enemies are no longer our enemies because they've become our friends. But it can also mean that we simply give up the fight and let them walk away."

Cody sat up straighter. He was right? They were actually considering letting him go? 'Shit, maybe I just caused so much trouble they think it's not worth trying to stop me anymore!' he thought.

Vera stood up and leaned slightly on her seatback. "Do you remember how I told everyone in our very first class that at the end of one week, we would reunite you with your parents, whether you'd decided to join us or not?"

Cody's eyes popped open. This was getting better and better!

Vera bristled at his eager smile. "Well, you've tossed that out the window."

She could practically hear his hope shatter. "What!?"

She held up two fingers. "You've got one last choice, Mr. St. John. You can either accept a Newbrain now, because that is absolutely the *only* way that any of us will ever trust you again, or we can simply dump you. By that I mean that we will not help you find your father. We will simply blindfold you, put you on the next helicopter we can smuggle in, and drop you at the closest Prey-controlled border."

Cody's cheeks got hot. "That's not FAIR!!" he bellowed.

Vera's face suddenly darkened. For the first time, he saw real, deep anger directed towards him. Not just frustration, not just irritation: FURY.

"Fair, Cody? That's not fair?"

She came closer until she was looming over him. She pointed her index finger directly in his face. "I have listened to you talk and I understand you and I sympathize with you. I even empathize with you. But you need to look at things from MY perspective now. Can you even fathom how much we've had to put up with because of you? You have made us work overtime treating all the injuries you've caused. You've cost us money to repair our equipment that you broke. I have no *idea* how much money we just lost on all the supplies you torched. Not to mention the truck itself! We actually have to go out and get a new one now, Cody. And considering that this is the middle of a war and both sides want to kill us, that's not exactly going to be EASY!!!"

Cody shrank back in his straps. Holy crap was she pissed!

Vera's muzzle drew closer and closer to Cody's until their noses nearly touched. Her voice had gone from sweet and soft to nails and sandpaper. "Do you have any idea what my friends risked to get all that food in the first place? So we can feed you all for FREE? Do you have any idea how much I've worried when people I work with and know and love go out on supply runs, and I don't know if they'll get shot to death out there? And did you think at all about the consequences that might have occurred if we hadn't been able to get that fire under control so quickly? Petra probably saved dozens of lives! If it had spread to the cafeteria or one of the classrooms..." She winced just imagining it. "Not to mention the smoke! That's one thing the wiredome can't keep in! If the fire had gotten just a little bit worse, that smoke might've made it past our perimeter and been seen by someone. They might have investigated, and found us, and called in the military. Either side's military. And either of them might have BOMBED US FLAT. Do you understand that, Cody!? Not FAIR!? You SELFISH LITTLE SHIT!!!" The vixen spun away and went to lean against her desk for a moment to regain her calm.

Cody was 100% petrified. He blinked, feeling like he'd just popped his face right through the door of a blast furnace. He had never seen her so angry at him before. He'd never heard her *swear* before either! He had really set her off!

"I'm sorry..." he said.

Vera's head popped up. She ran around the side of the Newbrain chair and grabbed the armrests. "What did you say? Did I hear that right?"

Cody gulped, worried he'd somehow made her even angrier. "I said 'I'm sorry'."

Vera collapsed in her chair. "You'll have to forgive me, I think my heart just stopped. I'm not hallucinating, am I? You actually just apologized?"

He blushed uncomfortably at her sarcasm. "Well... yeah."

The vixen sat up straighter, her expression becoming sincere again. "Did you mean it?"

Cody had to think about that first before he answered.

*Was* he sorry? He remembered asking himself that same question last night when he was strapped to the table with Petra (assuming any of that had actually happened). To admit he was sorry now was to admit defeat. Even if he'd been wrong about the truck full of weapons and the plot to kill all the Prey (which even now he realized was absurd because it conflicted with his Newbrain assassin theory), his heart had still been in the right place. He still believed that what he was doing was meant to save Prey lives.

But, at the cost of Preds.

Was he willing to admit to being wrong about that?

A sharp pain hit him out of nowhere as he asked himself that. It wasn't physical. It hit him in the heart, and it made him think of Dad for some reason.

"Cody...?"

He looked at her. "I don't know. I think... I think maybe I'm sorry for some of it, but other parts... I can't say that I am because I'm not. Like in that memory you guys wrote for me where Petra was trying to save us by apologizing and I said I couldn't. I can't lie. Not about this. I'm sorry I almost gave away our position. I would have lost my mind crying with regret if airplanes had actually shown up and started dropping bombs on everyone. But some of the other stuff... I was doing what I thought was right."

Vera nodded. "I can respect that answer. Also, you mentioned that implanted memory idea before and I had to clamp my hand over my mouth to keep from correcting you at the top of my lungs. I almost started banging my head against a wall when you were telling me about how much you panicked when you woke up.

"Cody, are you seriously telling me that you forgot all about the Rejuvenators?"

The young chipmunk's brain exploded with a noise that sounded like a fart.

He stared straight ahead, frozen, unable to believe the laws of physics would allow a universe where he could have possibly been so fucking stupid.

"Everything that happened between you and Miss Penmark actually happened. After we cut your heads off, we popped you right in a Rejuvenator, then snuck you back to your bunks. And no, we didn't really turn you into lunchmeat. We put you back the way you were and assumed you'd figure out what had happened as soon as you woke up. None of us had any idea you'd panic like that!" She smacked her forehead, remembering herself and the other staff staring at each other in utter disbelief when they'd been given the news of Cody's bunkhouse freakout.

"Do you understand now?" she asked delicately. "That's why you didn't feel any pain from your injuries or-"

He lifted a hand to stop her. "I... I get it. I understand now. I feel like the biggest retard the world ever shat out."

She shook her head, trying not to giggle at that colorful description. "No, Cody. You might have been wrong, but I know you aren't stupid. You just had a moment of panic. Fear hinders rational thought. Fear seeks the most outlandish, grotesque explanations. Yet another reason why I hope you'll reconsider our offer to give you a Newbrain."

He grimaced.

Vera kneaded her hands together. "Cody... Every time you mentioned your father, I could see how much he means to you. I want to help you reunite with him. From everything you've described, I honestly think it's *killing* you to be apart from him so long. The stress is chewing you to pieces, you love him so much. I don't want them to just drop you off at the border not knowing how or whether you'll ever see him again."

Cody made a fist and clenched it hard, trying to hold back tears again. 'Dammit, you're good at this,' he thought. 'You know how to pull all my strings.'

She could see him fighting himself inside. She spoke very gently. "Another philosophy of the GPAs is that choice is wonderful, but choices have consequences, and they *should* have consequences. To choose one thing is to lose the other. I don't want you thinking there's a way out of this where you get everything you want, Cody. The choice is fair whether or not you want to accept that. You have given us a mountain of trouble to sort through. If we're going to help you, you have to do something to show us you're worth it."

"Why do you even want me at all?" Cody asked. "If you knew from the start I was going to fight you no matter what, why didn't you just kick me out days ago?"

It was a fair question. "I suppose that's my fault. Even when I didn't know anything about you, even when I felt nothing but fear towards you for the way you looked at me, I still wanted to give you the chance to change. None of us in the GPA want anyone to have to live with that much corrosive hatred inside them. And I still see potential in you. Your story helped confirm a suspicion I'd had that maybe your weird, chaotic frenzies had some kind of internal logic to them that I couldn't see. And now I realize that, for the most part, your intentions were admirable."

She sighed. "Cody, to be honest, some of your suspicions were dead-on. And by that I'm not necessarily saying your conclusions were *correct*, but that I can see how your reasoning led you there. I work with the GPA every day, so it's easy for me to see the best in us. All the people I love, all our big ideas and hopes. But from an outside perspective, I can understand how much we might seem like a looming apocalypse. We *do* want to take over the world. We do dress up in black and make scary speeches. And we've got mind-bogglingly powerful technology that people will inevitably be afraid of. We understand all that. We know that power corrupts, and if we succeed, we're going to end up with a _lot_ of it."

Vera came closer to put her hand on top of Cody's. "If you joined us, I think you would be excellent at helping to keep us honest. Helping to make sure we keep to our ideals; to always do the right thing even when it's not the easy thing."

Cody was surprised by how appealing the idea sounded. "Like, internal affairs?"

She nodded. "Exactly. Right now, you've got suspicion covered. You get an A+ in suspicion." She chuckled. "A Newbrain would definitely help you differentiate between rational and irrational worries."

Cody looked away from her and sighed hard. He could not believe he was giving this idea the slightest, tiniest, most microscopic bit of consideration. "If I don't get one, I don't see Dad ever again, is that right?"

"You might," Vera conceded. "You'd probably be taken back to The Box, or somewhere similar. You'd have to wait until the war ends for him to come home. And... you'd have to hope that he makes it through alive. You know the GPA doesn't kill our enemies. But other Preds might."

Cody shuddered. Goddamn was this woman good at getting him right in the soft spots. He shut his eyes and thought, and asked his heart what the hell it most wanted.

Vera sat back down and gave him time.

He finally looked back up at her. His voice was quiet, but edged with titanium. "You have to understand something first, and you have to make me a promise."

She nodded. "I'm listening."

Cody looked down at the floor again. "I'm tired," he said simply.

"I can imagine. All that exertion in this heat-"

His look stopped her cold. His eyes told her to shut the fuck up and just listen to him.

She shut up.

"I'm _tired_," he repeated. "I can't believe I'm admitting this to you, and I feel like a traitor to myself for doing it. But I've been on red alert constantly for days now and I can't stand it anymore. Part of why I was willing to do a suicide mission this morning was so this would all just be _over_. If I couldn't go home, then at least it'd stop feeling like I'm being cooked alive all the time. I'm always afraid, always alert. I can't trust anyone. I treat my friends like shit because I'm so afraid they'll betray me. It feels FUCKING HORRIBLE," he exploded.

Vera saw the tension in his young body, coiled to self-destruct. She could imagine a molten core inside him, boiling and rolling and spilling white-hot metal everywhere. She could imagine the pain of it.

"So I want it to end," Cody said. "But giving in to you feels almost worse. Part of me would have rather burned to death in that warehouse than surrender to you. Because you're my ENEMY. You've ALWAYS been my enemy. And the very thought of ever giving in to you makes me SICK. I feel nauseous just considering it. It feels like, as much as I'd like to be able to relax and just be friends and let myself like you and believe you, I'd be _killing_ myself if I did that."

Vera had a hand over her mouth in shock and sadness at his words. "Cody, I... I understand. I don't think it was anywhere near as hard for me as it is for you, but I had to turn my back on everything my parents taught me when I joined the GPA. I had to convince myself that my beliefs were more important than my relationship with them. I still love them, but they still haven't forgiven me, and it hurts like hell inside."

Hearing that made him feel a little better. At least she knew what it was like. At least she wasn't going to bitch at him for not wholeheartedly embracing love and trust and forgiveness. It wasn't that easy. Part of him did want to. He could admit to himself now how beautiful it would be if everything the GPA stood for was really true and they really did want to save the world. But to believe that would mean denying... well... everything he'd ever known.

"What was it you wanted me to promise?" Vera asked.

"It's more like something I *need* than a promise," Cody replied. "I need you to _prove_ to me you're not lying. All the stuff you've said, as much as it makes sense... there's still a part of me that says it could all be made up. That you Preds could be hiding bunkers full of nerve gas and you're planning to wipe out all the Prey the second we let you take over. Give me a reason why I should believe you."

Vera considered that. She considered many ways of answering that request, and one by one she denied them all. A truly paranoid mind could find ways of disbelieving all of them. And besides, she'd already made some of her best arguments in class and they'd done nothing to persuade Cody then.

Finally, she decided on complete honesty. "I can't."

He'd expected a lot of answers out of her, but not that one.

"No matter what I say to you, Cody, if you want to convince yourself that I'm lying, then you will. No amount of facts would change that. I could show you every secret we have, and you could still insist we had more hidden. We've let you and the other Preykids wander freely around the camp, trying to show you that we're not hiding anything. And we *still* hear about rumors that we're doing experiments on people in the medical building, or there's a giant meat locker full of bodies underneath the pool."

Cody hadn't heard THAT one. "Wait... why the hell DID you have a beheading table in the medical building?"

She replied without hesitation. "It really is a butchering machine," she admitted. "Mrs. Lyubov and I used it to scare you, but that's actually the opposite of its purpose. It's made to be used alongside the Rejuvenator. We knew most Preys would be terrified by the idea of volunteering for meat, so the table was designed to kill painlessly. And there's two neckrests because we found that furs were far less scared to go through with it if they had a friend by their side for support. Ask Audra sometime if you don't believe me."

Cody considered that. It was possibly a lie, but she hadn't delivered it like one. She hadn't sputtered as if concocting something off the top of her head.

Vera thought of something else. "Say, why did you come around to believing me when I said you'd been acting so incredibly Preddish? I saw how fiercely you denied it at first."

Cody thought it over. "Because... Well... because all the stuff you were saying, I remembered doing it."

She nodded. "I guess that's my answer to your need for proof then. I've already given you all I can. Look back through your memories and decide for yourself how much of what I've said is true. You're the only furson you'll ultimately believe." She looked in his eyes, then shrugged. "I suppose, Cody, that you're simply going to have to trust me. As impossible as that sounds. Choose to, or not. There's nothing I can do to make it easier for you."

"Okay," he said softly.

Vera was utterly startled. It couldn't be that easy. "Okay? You trust me already?"

Cody gave her a growl of mock-annoyance. "No, I meant 'okay' as in, 'okay, I'll think about it'."

"I see," she said. She giggled slightly. "Sorry."

Cody waved it away. It was a fair misunderstanding.

Suddenly, Vera lit up like a christmas tree. Grinning brightly, she jumped to her feet. "I just had a fantastic idea! Cody, if you don't mind me spoiling the lesson I was about to give everyone tomorrow, would you like me to reveal the Great Predator Army's great big evil scheme for world domination?"

He blinked. "Um..."

She giggled again. "Sorry, just being dramatic. What I mean is, I'll show you our plans for how we're going to reconstruct society so that everyone's happy, and maybe that'll help you decide whether or not you want to be a part of it."

Cody 'hm'ed. "Allright. It might help. At least I can judge for myself whether it makes sense or not, and if it'll actually work."

"Exactly my intentions," Vera said with a smile. "Just give me a second to make sure I've got my slides in the right order." And with that she dashed to the blackboard.


*****


He heard her tapping away for a minute or so, then suddenly he was spinning around. "Whoa!"

"Sorry to startle you," Vera said as she finished positioning the Newbrain chair.

Cody looked up towards the blackboard. He wasn't sure what he was seeing at first. It showed a colored bar that stretched across the screen; blue gradually changing over to orange. Above, it was labeled:

The Sliding Scale Of Freedom And Comfort

At various points along the colored bar there were four labels:

FREEMAN, CITIZEN, WORKER and SLAVE.

Slave was at the far end of the scale, where the bar was fully orange. Cody knew what that color meant. "You're going to enslave all the Prey? THAT'S your idea of a society everyone will be happy with!?"

Vera giggled. "Not *all* Prey!"

Well, that was a relief. Wait...

"...Just some of them!"

"Are you fucking serious!?"

The grey fox nodded, still smiling. "I am. I know that sounds utterly insane, but just give me a moment to lay everything out."

Cody settled back in his seat. 'This had better be fucking good.'

Vera pointed towards the graphic's title. "Freedom and comfort," she said. "That's the big secret. That's the idea that's going to change everything. You remember the scientists who discovered the Newbrains?"

Cody nodded. Just because he didn't believe what he was told in class didn't mean he hadn't paid attention to some of it.

"They didn't think of trying to take over the world right away. These were just regular scientists after all. But once all of them had Newbrains, and suddenly they were all solving problems they'd been working on their whole careers, inevitably they started trying to find solutions to other things. They looked to their personal lives. They found ways to be happier, healthier, calmer. How to spend more time with the people they loved. And they looked at society, too. They saw it as a great big tangled problem that was actively resisting being solved.

"The scientists looked at news reports and opinion pieces and blogs and rants from both sides of the Fence. They tried to find something that was common among _everyone_. If you can find something both sides share, then you can emphasize it and get people to stop focusing on their differences. What they noticed was that both sides didn't want the other telling them what to do. That sounds simple, but it's so incredibly important!"

Vera laughed a little. "The great big idea that we hope will save society came about because one of the scientists watched a bad movie. He walked out of the theater appalled at the trash he'd just witnessed. He _hated_ it. But then he looked around and saw that a lot of other people were smiling and laughing and talking, and had obviously enjoyed it a lot. At first he had a moment of thinking they must all be idiots. But then he had an epiphany. *They* would probably think *he* was the idiot for not liking the film.

"This was the big idea: that *neither* of them was wrong. He had his reasons for not liking the movie: they had their reasons for liking it. And it didn't make them 'bad' just because they had a different opinion."

Cody looked a bit confused.

"I sense you're not seeing where this is going," Vera said.

"Nope."

"Okay then, think of one Prey citizen and one Pred citizen. One of them hates a certain law, the other loves it. They fight and bicker and argue and demonize each other endlessly. But all of that ends the second you teach them that neither side is wrong. The law they're arguing over? The Pred might have his own reasons for loving it, because it benefits him, and the Prey might have his own reasons for hating it, because it's harmful to him. The solution is to stop forcing both of them to make the same choice. Don't take it away from the Pred to make the Prey happy; don't force it upon the Prey to make the Pred happy."

"...Let both of them have what they want so they're both happy," Cody concluded.

Vera actually did a tiny jump for joy. "YES!! Oh, Cody! I cannot tell you how happy I am that you're getting this! *You* of all my students!"

He blushed a little. "Well, it's not that hard."

She shook her head sadly. "You'd be surprised. This might be easy for *people* to grasp; not so much for governments. A government is a superorganism. Kind of like how an ant colony can accomplish things no single ant could do on its own. But this also means that, bizarrely, the superorganism can develop its own patterns of behavior, as if it were a single living thing. It will act in its own best interest, even if that's against the best interests of all its citizens."

Cody was suddenly completely lost.

Vera could tell by the panicked look in his eyes. "Don't worry, this is advanced stuff. You don't have to understand it fully. Just know that governments can sometimes do things that are bad for *everybody*, and they can even develop ways to ensure that no one can change the system. That's what we have now. The Prey and Pred governments are like two big, loud, greasy machines. Their ultimate purpose is to oppose each other. They will continue to do this forever, no matter how many citizens get sick of all the fighting. The governments have literally *evolved* to become this way. They'll never back down unless someone forces them to."

"That'd be you guys?" Cody guessed, a bit sarcastically.

Vera nodded. "There's no way to fix the system as it stands. It'll always find a way to 'repair' itself and go right back to pointless perpetual conflict. So, we in the GPA want to swoop in and chop off both heads of the beast, bury it completely, and set up brand new rules that fundamentally change how everything in society works. You can't just kill a weed by picking the green part; you have to eradicate the roots as well."

All this was starting to give Cody the willies. "And you want me to *help* you do this!?"

"Hopefully so," she replied. "We all hope that when people see our new model for doing things, they'll want it so much they'll help us put it into place."

Cody was getting a tad impatient. "Okay, so get on with it. Explain this sliding scale thing."

"I'm trying to, don't worry," Vera said. "Right now, not a lot of people have enough choice in how they live their lives. The economy's so bad on both sides that people have to take jobs they hate, sometimes *multiple* jobs they hate, just to make enough money to survive. And what happens when you're forced to do something you hate? You don't put in your best work, that's what. You're constantly distracted by unhappiness. People who *want* to work put in more effort and are far more productive. Almost everything in our society is based around forcing people to do things. Everyone's miserable, and we all wonder why."

Vera pointed to the blackboard. "So why not a new kind of society where everyone is exactly where they want to be?"

Cody winced. "You're telling me that people will want to be slaves?" he asked, pointing as well as he could to the orange end of the bar.

"Some will," Vera said without hesitation. "I can't imagine *you* wanting to, but that's because you're you. Someone else would have different values, different desires, different emotional states. You, Cody, are an overwhelmingly independent, free-thinking furson. Someone else might enjoy the comfort of simply obeying without having to think much about it."

Cody felt a little lightbulb go off: the sliding scale of freedom and comfort. "Wait, wait, wait. I think I'm almost getting this... I remember the movie theater metaphor. You're saying, I think I have this right..."

Vera held her breath.

"...that I prefer being free, and that's not wrong. But even if I think someone who'd want to be a slave is insane, they're not wrong either. Their choice is just wrong for *me*. Right?"

Vera whooped at the top of her lungs. Cody suddenly found a grey-furred ballistic missile headed straight for him. Vera nearly hugged the poor boy's lungs out. "Cody!!! I CANNOT BELIEVE I HEARD YOU JUST SAY THAT!!!" she shouted in total joy. She was actually crying from happiness a little.

Noticing Cody's stunned expression, she quickly disengaged. She stood up straight and pushed her hair back into place. "Um, I apologize for losing my marbles there but... Oh, you cannot *believe* how happy I am right now! I honestly thought this moment would never come. I never in a bazillion years thought you'd be on board with this!"

Cody had to admit, he did understand the idea and he did see the value in it. Though he still wasn't entirely convinced it could work. "If you're so happy, how about making _me_ happy and undoing these straps?" he asked.

Vera hesitated. She looked him up and down, remembering the brutal things he'd done to other furs before. How he'd punched poor Walter's face into putty. How he and Petra had nearly killed one another. 'But,' she reminded herself, 'you are asking for him to trust you when his every instinct tells him not to.'

She decided to live up to her profession and teach by example.

Slowly and carefully, she undid the leather straps around Cody's head and then his legs. Keeping an eye on his teeth, she reached in to undo the strap around his torso.

Then, visibly trembling, she removed the restraints around his arms.

Cody could see how tense she was. She was expecting him to attack her the instant he got free. And yes, there was still a part of him that wouldn't shut up about how perfect an opportunity this was and that he was wasting it. He was free. His enemy was standing before him. There had never been a better time to strike.

But he didn't. He realized that she had just shown him an almost unthinkable amount of trust. In his heart, he knew that was something an honorable furson would do. That was not how an enemy behaved. An opponent maybe, but not an enemy.

When he was completely free from his restraints, he simply looked at her and nodded his gratitude.

She nodded back. "Thank you for not biting or punching," she said with a weak little smile.

He shrugged. "Hey, I'm tired."

Vera actually chuckled. Things were turning out better than she'd ever dared hope if they could actually joke with one another.

She went back to the blackboard while Cody rubbed his itchy wrists. "As you can see though, slaves are at one extreme end of the spectrum. And it's not the type of slavery you're thinking of, but I'll explain that in a moment. First I wanted to point out the middle." She indicated the word CITIZEN. "This is what everyone is right now, whether they want to be or not. We pay taxes, we go to work, we make our own life decisions. We have a decently balanced amount of both freedom and comfort.

"Those two things aren't mutually exclusive, but it's very hard to have more of one without less of the other. Actually, we nearly titled this the sliding scale of freedom and *safety*. Safety is something a lot of people these days want more of. But safety is a form of comfort, so comfort's what we went with. We wanted to show that both things are desirable. All of us want freedom and comfort sometimes, and we all put different values on how important they are to us. Cody, you _clearly_ value freedom over comfort. To a degree that's both admirable and kind of frightening."

He laughed a little. "Thanks, maybe."

"I hope she wouldn't mind me saying this about her, but you know your classmate Miss Logan?"

Cody blinked vacantly.

"Chloe-Sophia?"

Ohhh. "I think I know where you're going with this."

"She puts less of a priority on freedom than you do. She enjoys being led by Miss Kensington. And that's perfectly okay. The pair of them seem to form a very happy symbiosis. I had worried at first that Hydra was bullying the other girls into following her, but that doesn't seem to be the case. She has a strong, forceful personality, and like moons orbiting a planet, other people gravitate to her. It's a fantastic example of personalities coexisting by fulfilling each other's needs. That's what our whole plan is all about."

She pointed at the blackboard again. "There's four choices labeled here, but we want people to be able to put themselves *anywhere* on this spectrum. Anywhere they'll be happiest. Everyone will choose how free they want to be, and also how safe and comfortable they want to be."

"What's the 'worker' choice?" Cody asked.

"That one directly relates to the Newbrains." She smirked. "Watch this!" With that, she blinked, and suddenly her entire demeanor changed. Her face lost all expression. Her body became rigid. As Cody watched in mild alarm, she walked once around the desk, her every movement as perfect as a machine's.

When she was back to her original position, she suddenly became just as animated as before. And she looked quite happy too. "Neat, huh?"

"What was THAT!?" Cody hollered. "Did you just turn into a freakin' robot!?"

The vixen giggled. "Pretty much! It's one of many enjoyable side effects we discovered about the Newbrains; you can put yourself into a state where your conscious mind recedes to the background and you follow orders automatically. That probably sounds scary, but it's 100% voluntary. No one can make me enter this state against my will, and I can snap myself out of it at any time."

"But why!?"

"Think practically, Cody!" she lightly admonished. "Remember all the miserable people working at jobs they hate? A lot of those jobs are miserable because they require hours of monotonous, repetitive actions. Tasks that don't require creative thought. Jobs that would be so much easier if the workers could just sleepwalk through them."

Cody saw where this was going and wasn't sure he liked it.

"Did you know that the word 'robot' came from the word 'worker' in another language? It's why robots exist, Cody. Because there are jobs that can be done better if they're performed by unthinking machines. Forcing a furson to perform them is like torture. Imagine being an assembly line worker, or a garbageman, or a janitor, or a data entry clerk, or whatever job you can think of that's so gross or boring you'd go bonkers from doing it."

Roadkill removal came to mind.

"Now imagine going to your workplace and simply turning yourself off. You float in hazy dreams for a while, completely unaware of time passing. The next thing you know, your workday is done and you get to go home. It's like being paid for sleeping."

Admittedly, Cody could see the appeal in that. "Wouldn't there be tons of accidents though?"

She shook her head. "Most workplace accidents occur because people are distracted. This 'robot mode', as we've nicknamed it, isn't like being a zombie: it puts the thinking part of you aside so all of your attention becomes focused on your work. No talking, no daydreaming, no distractions. You follow safety rules to the letter without even thinking about it. Accidents actually *decrease*. Ever since the GPA started asking our low-level employees to try it out, efficiency and productivity have gone through the roof!"

The vixen laughed shyly. "I admit, I rather enjoy going into robot mode for personal reasons. I'll slip into it when I'm exercising, or just doing chores. I get more done and it's *super* relaxing!"

Okey-dokey. It didn't sound like his kind of thing, but whatever. Actually though, an idea occurred to him that might make it more appealing. "The Newbrain's a computer, right? Could you download games into your skull and play them while you're working? Maybe get internet in there?"

Vera looked more than a little alarmed. "Sorry if I seem startled, but we've actually been working on that. Not many people in the GPA even know about it yet!"

"Seriously? Can you do it?"

"Well... First off, don't think of the Newbrain as a computer. It's similar, but fundamentally different. Each nanobot isn't like a little tiny robot that has antennae and pincers and goes 'beep boop'. They're so small they function by chemical interactions, much like your brain cells do now. Their purpose is duplication of results. And they do that well. But due to their inorganic nature, we end up with a level of unprecedented control and malleability of function."

"...Short version?"

"They're not computers."

"Oh."

"That doesn't mean they can't *be* computers though," she said. "I admit this is terribly confusing without a full understanding of the science involved. What you said about video games and net connection? It's theoretically possible. We've done tests that show we *can* format a game to act like normal brainwaves, but we don't know yet if you'd be able to interact with it the same. It might just be a jumbled dream to you."

Cody nodded. "Oh, okay."

"Even if it does work," Vera admitted, "we're a little worried that if people *could* go online inside their heads at any time, they'd stay there permanently. Even if that is their choice, and we do value choice, it's kind of an unsettling thought."

Cody liked that she could acknowledge that. "And just to make sure: no one's going to be forced to get a Newbrain, right?"

"Never," she reassured. "Although we are *strongly* considering a law that you couldn't hold public office without one. We're hoping to keep away at least a few of the most greedy, sociopathic politicians that way. For everyone else, we'll simply make Newbrains available for free at special locations. It'll be considered a public right, like health care or police protection. We'll offer them up and let word of mouth do the rest. We think it'll be slow at first, but that a lot of people will start to want them once they see for themselves how much other people like them."

"And if you don't have one, you can't be a Worker, right?"

"Correct. You can still be a citizen, but you can't enjoy the benefits of getting paid for work you barely remember doing. That's another thing: being in robot mode is like meditating, so Workers need to sleep less. There's more of the day you can spend doing things you enjoy."

"Allright, I can at least see why someone would choose that. What's with the slaves then?"

Vera's hands fluttered about as she spoke. "First of all, it's 100% voluntary. This is not like back in human times when people thought they could own other people against their will. This is volunteering to give up your freedoms as a citizen in exchange for total comfort and safety."

'Okay,' Cody thought, 'at least you get something in return.'

"This option is basically for people who love being couch potatoes. I'm sure you've woken up some mornings and all you feel like doing is sitting around accomplishing absolutely nothing." Cody nodded. "Well, some people would love nothing more than for that to be their entire lives. Just lying in bed, snacking, playing games, talking with friends online. Every day. Everything taken care of for them. No decisions to make. Every day the same as the one before. For some people, that sounds like paradise."

Cody thought it sounded ungodly boring. But maybe doing it for a short time would be relaxing. Considering how madly in love the GPA were with choice, he guessed that someone could probably choose to spend a vacation living like that. "Wouldn't it cost a ton of money to pay for all these blobs to laze around though?"

"By now you should have realized that there's balance to every choice," Vera said. "If you were to agree to this, you would also have to agree to the government essentially owning your body. Remember when I first showed off the Rejuvenator, we talked about how it would revolutionize the food industry?"

Cody's eyes got wide. "You mean they'd be livestock!?" Suddenly the image of people lying around on couches was replaced by one of fat, lazy fursons all lined up at the slaughterhouse.

"We imagine it'll take quite a while before this really catches on. Most people's reactions will be like yours, and understandably so. But we've done some polls and a small handful of people absolutely *love* the idea, every part of it. Essentially you get to sit on your tush and have everything taken care of for you, but in exchange, once a day you'd be taken to a processing room where they'd turn your body into food and fur, then Rejuvenate you and send you back home. You can still be a productive member of society even without expending any effort. That's what this is all about; everyone contributes and everyone's happy."

"That's... kind of gruesome, but I guess I can't argue with the logic. I know some people will definitely bitch about that though. They'll want to do nothing and not have to get butchered all the time."

Vera nodded. "We expect that too. Given a balanced choice, most people will naturally try to figure out a way to take all the good and none of the bad. We're really hoping to encourage an attitude of 'that's not okay'. We're certainly not going to criminalize it, but we hope to make it socially unacceptable. The same as when someone says something openly prejudiced, or farts in an elevator."

Cody guffawed.

"You get the point. When someone complains about wanting the best of both sides without having to choose between them, we want that to be seen as shameful behavior. Something inexcusably selfish. Unpatriotic, even. Wanting to take without giving back."

She pointed to the blue end of the bar on her graphic. "That's where Freeman status comes in. When someone complains about where they are in society, we want the response to be, 'So choose something else and stop whining.' And if they don't want to choose anything at all, or go off on a rant about how much they don't like someone *else's* choice, we want the response to be, 'Go be a Freeman then.'"

"Is that like going off and living in the woods like a hermit?" Cody guessed.

"Ideologically similar, yes! Very good!" Vera replied. "It took us a long time to come up with this one, actually. We asked ourselves, 'If consensual, happy slavery is the extreme of comfort, what's the polar opposite of that?' And we found our answer when we thought about- you might have seen this on the news or online before- people who complain about taxes. Specifically, that they shouldn't have to pay any at all.

"The tax code *is* monstrously unfair and inefficient on both Pred and Prey sides. But taxes themselves are always necessary. They are a citizen's entry fee into society. It's like an amusement park: you can ride for free, but you have to pay to get in, plus your own food and souvenirs. That's fair, isn't it?"

"Yeah. Sounds okay," Cody said.

"Some people think it isn't. And so, in order to give *them* their own choice, there's Freeman status. No taxes. None at all. No obligations to society whatsoever."

"...But no benefits either?" Cody guessed with a smirk.

Vera grinned. "Correct, my star pupil!"

He blushed a little at that.

"That's exactly the idea. You can live completely independently from everyone else, but it also means you're completely responsible for your own well-being. You have to pay for your own health care with your own money. You have to drive your own garbage to the dump. Pick up your own mail at the post office. Homeschool your children. Pay the police or firefighters if you need their services." She tapped her chin. "...We did decide on making an exception if your neighbor's house catches on fire and the flames spread to yours; that wouldn't be your fault so you wouldn't have to pay."

"Fair enough."

Vera had to ask. "I'm very curious whether this sounds appealing to you or not. You're certainly a very independent person."

"Yeah, but I'm not *stupid*," Cody replied. "The Freeman thing sounds horrible. Like, why not just go all the way and live in a damn cave?"

"Well, it does have some upsides. If you don't pay in to the government, you also don't get bothered by them either. You'd basically be opting out of nearly all laws. Of course, you'd still be prohibited from harming or harassing other people. But Freemen are allowed to do basically anything they want to themselves and each other. Absolute freedom, with all the exhilaration and danger that comes with it. We envision whole Freeman *cities* popping up. Zones of purest anarchy. We expect a lot of artists and musicians to gravitate to them, and that they'll create *extraordinary* things there."

Cody had to admit, put that way it sounded pretty damn badass. Still a bit stupid though.

"So where would you be on this scale, if the choice was wholly yours?" Vera asked.

He didn't have to think hard. "Probably a citizen. Just normal."

Vera wasn't surprised. "We expect most people to be at first. We predict that it'll only be a small amount of outsiders who want to try the more radical lifestyles at first. But over time, we think the Bell Curve will assert itself the way it always does. Most people will be citizens or workers, or some hybrid of the two. Only a small fraction will live full-time as Slaves or Freemen, though we do predict more Slaves. A lot of people do seem to enjoy obeying."

Cody 'hmm'ed. "I really don't get that impulse."

"You don't? Never?" she asked playfully. "There's never been a time when it felt good to do as you were told? To make someone else happy, or proud of you?"

That struck Cody kind of hard. "My Aunt Cherise," he said quietly. "Helping her out in the kitchen. And of course, my Dad. I like it when he'll give me a challenge and I can live up to it." His expression switched from thoughtful to sour. "That doesn't mean I wanna be his slave though."

"Oh, of course not. I wasn't implying that," Vera defended. "I'm just saying that some feelings are universal. Some of us feel them more strongly than others, but if we try, it's surprisingly easy to find ways to empathize with one another. No matter how different we seem, there's always at least a sliver of common ground between all of us."

Cody closed his eyes and sat silently for a few moments. His stomach hurt. Not because he was hungry (though he was, now that he thought about it), but because his head had been a war zone for the past hour. The part of him that had seemed nonexistent just this morning, the part that wanted to believe Vera's optimistic ideas, was starting to gain ground. And the voice inside that had never stopped screaming for him to attack and run while he still had the chance, was starting to sound silly and desperate and powerless.

Cody looked up at the digital blackboard, trying to imagine what it'd be like to be each one of the four choices. He couldn't deny that he could see the appeal in all of them, not just the drawbacks. One had the freedoms he was used to plus the comfort of normalcy. One was similar enough, but with a 'get out of drudgery free' card. One was unlimited comfort without freedom, and one was unlimited freedom without comfort. He could actually imagine himself trying out any one of them for a short while. "You can change your choice, right?"

"Oh, definitely!" Vera said straightaway. "In fact we encourage it. We hope people will hop around from choice to choice until they find one that suits them. Or just switch around as they please. We're even working on technology to make it easier for people to switch species, or genders, if they feel like their outside doesn't match their inside."

Purely on principle, he wanted to object to this. All of it. It felt unnatural. Plus it was in his nature to not believe a Pred. But the ideas themselves... He couldn't find fault with them. It seemed like the GPA had really put a lot of thought into making sure everything balanced out. Cody thought hard, probing and poking and trying to find some flaw that would prove it all unfeasible.

Vera guessed what he was doing from his irritated yet thoughtful expression. "We've done lots of homework, Cody. We've extensively studied behavior and economics. We're confident this system will work."

"Won't there be people who try to exploit it though?" he asked, finally coming up with a potential problem. "I hear about that all the time. Business owners who cut pay and force people to work overtime, then fire everybody once they make a profit. And politicians just let them get away with it."

She nodded, impressed that he'd considered that. "That's why we'll have to *be* the government for a while. The GPA, I mean. We've thought it over and there's just no other way. We'll essentially have to be a dictatorship in order to make sure everyone can be free. Sounds insane, doesn't it?"

"Yeah," Cody agreed.

"But there's no other way," Vera reasserted. "Businesses do those kinds of immoral things because they bribe the government to let them get away with it, and they also subtly influence media to make sure you believe that they should be *allowed* to get away with it; that fraud is only a crime when a poor person commits it. It's almost blasphemy to think that the needs of the people should come before the needs of a corporation. So we're going to rewrite the laws from scratch. We're going to look at all the loopholes that have been exploited so far and preemptively plug them. We'll make sure that both government and industry have enough obligations to match their power. No one will get a free ride anymore, no matter how hard they try. And we'll give citizens more power to have their voices heard. There's almost no one alive who doesn't use the internet nowadays, yet we still rely on models of representational democracy from *centuries* ago. There's no excuse anymore for not letting citizens directly vote on what laws they want to be governed by."

All that sounded great. But Cody had one more objection. "What happens when everything's in place but you guys don't feel like not being a dictatorship anymore?" he asked pointedly.

Vera was somewhat stunned. Cody was sharp as a razor. "That's where you come in, actually. We already know we'll need people to force us out if we get so complacent we won't go willingly. We've got a list of all the goals we want to accomplish, and once they're done, we have to turn democracy back on again, period. We know we're going to need people like you, Cody, who are smart and strategic enough to oppose us if necessary."

It was Cody's turn to be stunned. He'd been surprised so far by how easily she'd come up with answers to his objections. And they weren't bullshitty, on-the-spot answers either. She'd responded like someone who'd studied their material so thoroughly that it was second nature. The GPA sure as hell seemed like they'd considered every problem that could possibly make their plans fail, and either corrected for them or worked around them.

"It still won't be a perfect world though," he said softly. He looked up into her eyes, and she could see how much he wanted to believe. "No matter how much you plan, things can always go wrong. Look at me; I'm proof."

She chuckled affectionately. "But in the end, we figured out how to make peace with you too, didn't we?"

Cody smiled. Inside, he felt conflicted as ever. He still felt like he was a traitor to his own beliefs. He still felt ashamed for letting the enemy feed him their propaganda. But those feelings were slowly receding. It was getting easier and easier to ignore them. Cody was almost frightened by how quickly this was all happening. But in a way, it wasn't without explanation. All this time he had been like a flame traveling along a fuse. This morning he had reached the end, and exploded. There wasn't anything left to burn anymore.

Vera came over and knelt in front of him. She put her hands over his. "You're right, Cody. It won't be a perfect world. It won't be, and it can't be. Utopia is a myth; we know that. That's why we're not even trying for it. We just want to make things better than they are now. That's all."

Cody looked into her eyes and saw nothing but sincerity. There was so much hope there it almost made him flinch. He didn't know if he could ever feel a fraction of her optimism. His outlook had always been rooted in fear: 'The world is a dangerous place. I must survive it.' He didn't know if he could change. But maybe he didn't have to. Maybe it was enough to just help someone who saw things differently.

He looked down at his lap and spoke so softly it was almost inaudible. "Give me the fucking Newbrain."

Vera's ears perked up. Her heart quickened. "Did I hear that right?"

He looked up, bitter uncertainty in his eyes. "Don't make me say it again."

She was in awe of this sudden change in him. She gave his hand a comforting squeeze. "You don't have to right now. If-"

"I'm scared shitless," he growled at her. And for fuck's sake, was he crying again? 'You big baby.' As if this wasn't hard enough. "If you don't do it now, I'll never be able to agree to it again. This is the hardest choice I've ever made, do you understand that?"

It was rhetorical, but she answered anyway. "I do completely."

He spoke through gritted teeth. His heart was a jackhammer. "Then you know that half of me would rather die than do this. It's taking everything I have to say 'give it to me'. Do it now, before I slip and that rage thing happens again. Do it quick before I snap and chew your goddamned eyes out."

Sudden fear spiked through her. They had been having such a productive conversation, she had forgotten how violent he could be. "Allright." She reached for the straps. "I'll use the velcro this time, so you can break loose if you start getting panicky. I don't want to feel like I'm forcing this on you, not after you've been so afraid of this."

He looked her dead in the eyes. "No. Use the other ones. The stronger ones."

'Don't tell her! Don't tell her you stupid asshole! It's your last chance!!'

He swallowed hard, and completed his betrayal. "...I'd planned to thrash around when the hose went in, so the procedure would fail and it'd leave me braindead. Strap me in as tight as you can. Make sure I can't."

She suppressed a gasp. "Are you sure!?"

"YES," he growled. He sounded like a feral wolf. "_I'm_ making this decision. Not my fucking paranoia. Do you understand that!?"

Vera started strapping his legs down with the leather. "Yes I do. And I think you're braver than I ever gave you credit for."

Cody leaned his head back against the chair. He closed his eyes tight, feeling the hot tears seep through. His nerves were pulsing and squirming. He had to physically resist the impulse to strike out, punch Vera in the ear, rip off the straps and run until he collapsed.

'NO,' he told his brain. 'I'M IN CONTROL NOW. NOT YOU.'

Vera worked as quickly as her quivering fingers would allow. She hated how tight she was pulling the straps. She must have been hurting him. But he'd ordered her to. She had to respect his choice.

Cody moaned in terror and pain as the last strap went around his head. He felt Vera hesitate, then continue pulling it tight. "Thank you," he breathed out.

She patted his shoulder comfortingly.

"Remember; tight as you can," he said.

"This is as tight as it'll get before it starts cutting off circulation."

He tensed his arm and tried to rip free of the straps. Same with his head. He struggled as hard as he could. He did not budge a millimeter. "Good."

He listened to Vera readying the fluid. He felt something metal touch the base of his neck. A flash of unthinkable terror paralyzed him for a moment, and he wished he really could die rather than go through with this. He screamed.

"Cody, are you okay!?"

"Yes!! I'm just shitting my fucking pants I'm so fucking scared out of my mind!!"

Seeing him like this was painful for her too. "Is there anything I can do!?"

He thought of something. His eyes snapped open. "Look at me."

She was around the chair in a heartbeat, kneeling before him.

"Tell me you don't regret getting yours," he begged.

She smiled warmly. "Never. I never have, not for a moment," she answered easily.

"Do you know anyone else who has?"

"Not really. Some complainers, but just from people I know who always complained about everything beforehand too."

"What about Yolanda?"

"She _loves_ hers! She's told me so a dozen times. She's been trying to convince her father to get one too. Oh! I forgot to tell you! We managed to-"

Cody cut her off. "I saw the helicopter!" he shouted. "I was in the tower, remember? I saw the whole thing. He slapped her, then Hydra kicked his ass. What about Jayden?"

"He's still exactly the same as he was before, only happier. I did have to de-brainwash him a bit though. Your assassin idea had him pretty shook up. Tycho has a Newbrain too, by the way. So does Hydra, Chloe, Britney, Michelle, Carlos, Trudy and a dozen more from just your bunkhouse alone."

"Kenny? Frank?"

"Neither of them. Not yet. But Frank did ask me once what it was like. Oh, and Petra has one."

His eyes bulged in shock. "You're *shitting* me!!"

Vera shook her head, still smiling. "Nope. She asked for it just today."

Cody had a moment of giddy disbelief. He looked up towards the ceiling for a moment until his head stopped spinning. 'Well, hell. Looks like everyone else is getting the damn things. I may as well join in the fun.'

He shut his eyes tight and prayed to his father that he was making the right choice.

"...Do it."

"Allright, Cody," Vera said. She reached around to the back of the chair, about to start the process.

He looked across at her and pinned her in place with his gaze. "If you're lying about any of this, you know I'll kill you, right?" he said sadly.

She gulped. But she knew it wasn't really a threat. It was a plea. He was putting an unthinkable amount of trust in her right now. He wanted her to know that, if she broke that, it would destroy him. He would go right back to the state of insanity he'd been in before, never to return.

"Cody, if I were so evil and stupid as to lie to you now," she patted his paw, "then I would deserve any revenge you could imagine for me."

He nodded. His face showed incredible relief to hear those words, to know she understood. "Can you look at me the whole time?" He asked. And even though it was excruciatingly embarrassing, he added, "...and hold my hand?"

"I would be honored to," she said.

Holding his hand, looking into his eyes, she reached behind him and turned on the machine.


*****


The first sensation was pain. "Ow!"

Vera patted Cody's cheek. "That's just the machine making a little hole. It's the only part that'll hurt. You can hop in a Rejuvenator after we're done and it'll be like it was never there. Can you feel the nozzle?"

He tried to nod; couldn't of course. "Yes."

"The fluid's going inside now," she said gently. "It's getting to know you, learning all it can about you. It's going to do everything it can to help you be a better Cody."

That was nice but it didn't help. He had never been this scared before. And panic didn't count. This was the intractable terror of being five years old, lying in bed during a thunderstorm, staring at his window convinced that a murderous monster was about to lift it open and slither in to disembowel him. This was being a toddler in a giant crowd and looking around and realizing he couldn't see Daddy anywhere. This was being seven and playing in Aunt Cherise's backyard and stumbling onto a swarm of hornets, having to walk agonizingly slow while they crawled all over him and dreading the inevitable stings.

His entire body was stricken, rigid. He felt like he was alone in his house with an intruder downstairs. The house was his skull. The intruder was a complete unknown.

Vera could see him twitch and sweat. She could feel his heartbeat pounding as she held his hand. But through it all, he was silent. Not a word. "Cody, you are being incredibly brave. I'm sure your father would be proud of you."

He squeezed her hand. "Thank you." If anything could have made him feel the slightest bit better, that was it.

He knew the nanobot fluid was seeping around in his brain by now. Replacing his cells. Worming its way into every nook and cranny. Yet he couldn't physically feel anything happening. He had no idea how fast it was progressing. "Am I supposed to feel it yet?"

"No, it's very gradual," she reassured. "It won't be like a wave crashing through you. And the effects are subtle too. You won't wind up with any mental superpowers. You'll have the same brain you did before, with the same strengths and limitations. It'll just make everyday things easier. It'll get the little irritations out of the way so you can focus on whatever you choose to focus on." Something else occurred to her that he might be afraid of. "And don't worry about thinking too much or too little or anything like that. You can't do anything to make it fail."

He appreciated her trying, he really did, but it wasn't helping. Her words were about as useful as an umbrella in a hurricane. Fear's icy, slimy tentacles were slithering all along his neck and face. Wherever they touched, weeds of doubt grew. And with doubt came the last fighting swings of his rage.

As he held Miss Vera's hand and ran his fingers along her smooth pawpads, he tried to steel himself against the barrage of painful emotions his brain was assaulting him with. Every vicious thing he had ever felt towards Preds was dredged up and flung at him. Panic was setting off all his alarms. His instincts called him every insult they could think of. Failure. Traitor. Coward. Predlover.

The classroom receded. The chair itself vanished. Cody's world became his mind.

He imagined himself the lone pilot of a starship. His control room was huge, but he was the only crewman aboard. In the ship of his mind, he ran back and forth, checking every screen and readout. He checked his feelings, his memories, his likes and dislikes, the strengths of his friendships and his hates. Frantically checking everything for fear it would be stolen away the moment he turned his back.

The alarms kept blaring inescapably. The sound was a shrill nail driven through his temples. It pushed him to fight back against the Newbrain, to struggle against his straps, to scream until his throat bled. Anything but sit there and let the Preds destroy his mind.

'NO. Nothing's being destroyed. I have to hold onto that.'

His mindship seemed to be going faster now, speeding out of control. It was heading directly for the heart of a black sun that blazed with dark light. The hull shuddered and the alarms kept on shrieking.

Vera had to bite her lip; Cody was squeezing her hand so tightly it hurt. But she let him. She knew her tiny pain was nothing compared to what he was going through. His face was contorted into a grotesque mask of mania.

Cody's every molecule screamed at him to steer away from that black sun. It was the embodiment of the Unknown. Flying into it meant certain obliteration. At least, that's what his instincts wanted him to believe. All their old familiar lines circled around his head like eels: 'You can never trust Preds. This is what they want. You're giving them victory. You're not even fighting back. What happened to all your friends will happen to you too. You'll be controlled. You'll be their slave. They will take over and destroy everything and it will all be YOUR FAULT.'

The words were so deafening that they coalesced into a single voice. And Cody could finally see what that voice belonged to. It defined itself into an image: a mirror-Cody. A wretched creature so fear-haunted that it could no longer feel anything but hatred. It was ragged and haggard and its sunken, skeletal face was his own, but twisted into the long-fanged Pred he had always imagined in his nightmares.

Its stare glowed hot with accusation. "You're letting them take you. My father would piss in your face if he could see this."

Cody braced himself at his shaking control panel and stared back at the monster. "He's _my_ father, not yours. You're not me. You're nothing. You're a bunch of misfiring chemicals, and I'm erasing you."

"You can't," it spat.

"I already am. The process is already started. There's no stopping it. You're already dead."

"No, YOU'RE dead!!!" it screamed, its face split open in a storm of teeth. "You're giving them exactly what they want! What they've been planning for all this time! HOW DID YOU TURN THIS STUPID!? Your corpse is going to end up on a barbecue grill by tonight, with all the Preds standing around *laughing* at you. How you fought and you fought and in the end they finally got you! And our father will never find us because all that will be left is a pile of SHIT AND BONES!!!"

Its voice was a tornado-loud swirl of echoing razors that nearly carved straight through him. But Cody stood fast and weathered it. This was *his* fucking ship.

Cody sat himself down in the captain's chair. The black sun was coming closer and closer. The stars outside were white streaks. He looked his noxious duplicate in its bloodshot eyes. "You're the only Pred I've ever hated."

"LIES!!!" it screamed.

Cody's face was calm as he felt confidence slowly filling him. "No Pred's ever hurt me as much as you have. You've killed my friendships, kept me away from happiness. You're my only enemy. It's always been you."

It swelled, tumors seeming to inflate beneath its patchy skin. "YOU'LL DIE WITHOUT ME!!!"

Cody sat up straight in his seat. He was in command now, and he would be forevermore. He stared down the beast that had birthed him. "You're worthless to me," he said.

"YOU!!! WILL!!! DIE!!!" it roared.

Cody watched vomit spill through holes in the creature's throat. Its eyes turned pus-yellow. Its fur bristled into black needles. Its ugliness was astonishing. It was trying to intimidate him, but all it was really doing was showing its true self.

It screamed in desperation one more time, louder than a trainwreck, louder than an atomic bomb. Cody felt the wind rustle his fur, but that's all it was. And now he saw what this beast was really made of. Desperation. Nothing more. Cody couldn't believe he'd ever listened to this Halloween freak.

"Shut up," Cody whispered.

And it obeyed.

Cody watched it smudge into a fading image the instant he spoke the words. His command tore a thousand holes through it. It was nothing but scraps of sound and fury, and then it was nothing at all.

Cody did not waste time mourning the ugly thing. He stood up and walked towards the viewscreen. The black sun awaited.

He barely noticed as his ship began to disintegrate all around him, just like his feardemon had. Cody didn't need it any more. Lights sputtered out, alarms dulled to silence. Huge chunks of metal tore themselves away and went flying off into the void. The ship itself, vast as it was, was too small to contain him now.

Serenely, he continued to walk forward. Standing on nothing but stars. His gait was slow and measured, but his speed increased exponentially.

He barely blinked as he passed through the black sun. It swirled away into wisps of smoke. It was never a threat at all. It was never even an obstruction. Only someone stupid and blind could have thought so.

Cody slowed until he chose to stop. Past the remains of the defeated sun were stars. An endless field of them. And they were all his. Each tiny, twinkling point of light was a part of his soul. All his ideas, all his dreams, all the people and things he loved, all the lessons he'd learned.

He could remember them all just like before, but the images were sharper now; the emotions as intense as he chose to feel them. And they were linked now, too. Whenever he pulled a star closer to imagine it, like a web it pulled all the nearby stars along with it. Cody could flit through them as easily as paging through a book.

Vera was right: nothing had changed. Only how he interacted with it. The only loss was what he chose to lose.

He was in command of himself in a way he had never felt before. Well, maybe 'never' was an exaggeration. Throughout his life there'd been sporadic, fleeting moments when everything would suddenly become *clear*. Whatever he was doing became as easy as breathing. Thoughts of seemingly impossible complexity or wisdom would occur to him out of the blue. This state of clarity was as fragile as a soap bubble. Thinking about it too hard made it vanish, and he could never predict when it would arrive again.

But now... He was in it. It was him. He somehow knew that the clear-feeling didn't depend on random chance anymore. It was his new normal. From now on, this was how it was *always* going to be.

Vera had knelt beside Cody the entire time. She'd watched him grit his teeth so hard it made her wince. She'd watched tears streak down his cheeks. She'd watched as his expression of agony had shown tiny traces of easing, and then slowly the boy's facial muscles relaxed, leaving him perfectly neutral.

The machine pinged. The process was complete.

Cody opened his eyes.

Vera felt hope. They were clear.

A peaceful smile came to the boy's muzzle. "You were right," he said.

She hugged him in relief and triumph. "You looked like you just went through Hell and back, Cody! I can't imagine what was going on inside your mind, but I've never seen a reaction like yours. It looked like you were tearing yourself in half!"

He chuckled. That was apt. "It felt like it."

Vera ended the hug, but held onto his hands. "How do you feel?"

He took a deep breath and surveyed himself. He felt completely new, yet the same as ever. Like he'd walked through fire and it had burned off everything unnecessary, leaving just the slim, pure essence of himself. All the garbage had turned to ash.

And the Newbrain itself hadn't done it. It had merely helped. It all happened because Cody had chosen for it to.

"I feel pretty good," he said simply.

"Are you sure?" Vera asked, her tail curling around her knees. "I've never seen anyone make faces like yours during the procedure. Did it hurt?"

He tried to shake his head; couldn't of course. "No. It was all in my mind. I had to face some nasty parts of me. I got rid of them though. I don't know if it was so easy because the Newbrain helped me, or just because I hadn't really tried to shut them off before. By the way, would you mind getting these straps off? They are REALLY starting to itch!!"

Vera chuckled and hopped up right away (her lower back let her know it was not happy she'd spent so long in such an odd position). "Sorry about that. I'll have you out of there in a jiffy." She circled around the chair. The first thing to do was power it down, then she reached for the little green first aid kit, which Kady had left there on the million-to-one chance their most troublesome camper would actually agree to the procedure. 'Looks like she'll be buying *my* dinner tonight,' Vera thought with a smirk.

The vixen disengaged the nozzle at the back of Cody's head and quickly slapped a bandage on. Then her fingers started fluttering about, undoing all his straps. The combination of stress, leather and sweat had indeed made them insufferable. Cody started scratching vigorously as each one came off. Vera nearly got elbowed in the nose by accident.

"How about we switch seats?" she offered. "My desk chair has got to be more comfortable than where you're sitting."

"Sounds good," Cody said. As soon as his legs were free, he stood up. *Wow* did that ever feel good! He'd been sitting there a helluva long time. Cody reached above his head and stretched his whole body. He grunted in satisfaction. He turned Vera's chair around and plopped down into it with a happy sigh.

Grinning at his obvious relief, Vera sat down in the Newbrain chair. She couldn't help noticing how soaked with sweat some parts of it were. She didn't say anything about it though.

Cody took in a deep breath. He had his head tipped back and a bigass smile on his muzzle.

"Wasn't so scary, now was it?" Vera said playfully.

"At first it was," Cody understated. "But now I feel great. Not smarter or better, just... _clear_. Like I can be at my best whenever I want. Like what Jayden said about the fog going away."

Vera knew exactly how that felt. One of the greatest joys of her job was sharing that wonderful state of 'flow' with others. "You do look a bit different though."

"How so?" he asked, still letting his head droop over the seatback.

She considered. "I'm not sure. Just something about you. You seem... Well actually, you seem a little more grown up now."

He smirked. That kinda made sense. He did feel a bit like he'd just stepped out of a cocoon. Something sticky that had kept him trapped for a long, long time.

He looked up at Vera, sitting there in the Newbrain chair.

And then he had a thought. A very cold one.

'I wonder what would happen if I turned it back on?'

All of a sudden, this seemed like a very interesting idea to him. It would be so easy, now that the fox woman's guard was down, to rush over and strap her in before she had any time to react. Jam that nozzle into her brain. Pump the silver shit in until it overflowed. What would it do? Would one Newbrain overwrite the other? Delete her permanently? This might be his perfect chance to escape and-

"GAH!!" Cody shook his head as if a hideous insect had just landed on him.

Vera saw a flurry of emotions cycle through his face. "What's wrong?"

Cody's calmness was suddenly obliterated. He shivered. Where the hell had THAT come from? "I don't know! Something happened! I looked at you, and out of nowhere I thought..." He blushed in shame. "...something not good."

She did not like the way he'd said that. "Um, do I want to know what it was?" she asked.

Cody shook his head. "I don't think so." He was confused and deeply unsettled. "I thought I'd already dealt with this! I thought I just got done telling my mind to stop pulling this kind of shit on me."

The fox spoke guardedly, watching his every movement, just in case this was a possible prelude to regression. "Well, if you mean your negative impulses, remember that the Newbrain doesn't muzzle your instincts. It only helps you keep them in control. Cody, I know that you have held onto anger for a very long time, and your progress today has been nothing short of astonishing. But you're not going to solve everything in a day. All bad habits take a while to die out. It always takes a while to practice ignoring them."

That made him feel a bit better. It made sense he'd have little relapses now and then. He supposed the important thing wasn't having the thought, but that he hadn't acted on it.

Vera thought of a way to potentially turn this situation into a positive one. "Cody, you've got a brand new shiny brain. Why don't you make it work for you?"

"Huh?"

"Try finding out where that unwanted thought came from. By now you should have noticed that you're more aware of how your thoughts form. It shouldn't be a constant intrusive stream of data. Just an awareness; there to focus on or not if you choose."

Cody hadn't actually noticed that. But then suddenly, there it was. And it had been there in the background since halfway through the procedure. It was like how his dreams sometimes started with all sorts of backstory included. As each flitting thought passed through his mind now, it left a trail. Easy to ignore so he didn't get overwhelmed, but there nevertheless if he felt like pursuing them.

"Allright, I'll try," Cody told Vera. He let the vicious thought come back into his mind, feeling uncomfortable now that she was smiling so trustingly at him. The thought had left clear tracks, and Cody could tell they went down very, very deep. He set out following them, like walking down a dark hallway with a flashlight. He came to a place where he encountered a momentary resistance, then he chose to step through. "I think... I think I just went into my subconscious," he said, a little awed.

Vera nodded. "Your brain won't keep secrets from you anymore," she said.

The hallway Cody found himself in now was very dark indeed. It felt like a sewer, dripping with mildew and filth. It was crisscrossed with many strings all along the ceiling and walls. Cody knew with a glance they all led to fearful, hateful thoughts about Preds. All his insane escape plans and justifications for hurting others. It all started here.

And when he shone his light to the very end, a tidal wave of confusion and heartbreak crushed through him. Cody pitched forward in his seat and buried his head in his hands. "No..."

Vera scooted closer to comfort him. How many ups and downs could the poor boy take in one day? "What is it?"

Cody's voice was muffled. "I saw my father." He took his hands from his face. A tear fell from his eye and he watched it land in a perfect circle on the tile floor. "I traced back the thought, and it led to him. But that doesn't make any *sense*! How could he be the cause of all this!? I _love_ him! He's the best dad I could ever hope for!"

Vera whimpered in sympathy. As she thought about his revelation, a whole lot of things started making sense to her. "Cody, I think I may have an idea. It's just a theory though. I don't want to offend you if I'm wrong."

He shook his head. "Go ahead. If it helps, it helps."

"Well..." She spoke her next words with great trepidation. She felt like she was stepping into a minefield. "A day ago when I was still struggling to understand your behavior, I remember reading your files and finding out your father was a military man. Given your violent attitude and behavior, I thought at first that maybe... he was an abusive parent."

Cody looked up slightly, just enough to give her a small but menacing look of warning.

"But I realize now I was wrong!" she quickly corrected. "In fact, you did a thorough job convincing me of that earlier. Whenever you talked about him, I was taken aback by how incredibly strong your loyalty and love to him is. At first it confused me. But then..." She took a moment to figure out where to start explaining. "Cody, do you remember back in class when I talked about the distinction between Pred and Prey? How it's a lie, and always has been?"

He nodded, a little confused by the change in subject, but he figured she was gonna tie it in somehow. Then he had a sudden flashback to the insultingly boring historical novel he'd read. "But we *needed* that lie!" he remembered. "Back when it started, everyone was paranoid and axe-crazy. Everyone was killing each other everywhere. It was chaos! We had to believe in Pred and Prey. Otherwise, no one would have ever been able to trust each other. That lie *saved* us."

She smiled to see that he'd paid attention in other classrooms too. "Completely correct. The lie was started for the very best of intentions, and it saved an uncountable number of lives." She sighed. "But that was centuries ago. We've grown up now. We don't need it to save us anymore. It's fulfilled its purpose, and now keeping it around is choking us to death."

Hearing those words shoved Cody headlong into an epiphany. "Wait a minute... When we created the lie, it saved us because suddenly we could trust *half* the population instead of none. Because suddenly they were the same as us."

His eyes widened.

"But now, we have to get rid of the lie... so we can trust the *other* half! Because we're *all* the same!"

Vera thought she might faint.

To hear those words from Cody St. John, of all people. A boy who'd arrived in camp with an attitude of 'I'm going to kill every Pred here'. It was nothing short of a miracle. It was like a new sun appearing in the sky. Or ice cream cones growing on trees. Or the war finally ending once and for all.

She couldn't think of a way to say how proud she was of him. She simply hugged him.

"Thanks," he said quietly as he held her. It felt nice. A hell of a lot better than being afraid all the time. Letting go of all that had been the most difficult thing he'd ever done, but he was already feeling the rewards. Vera's hug reminded him of Aunt Cherise's. And Dad's. Which brought him back to the topic at hand. "So what's the big lie got to do with Dad? I already understand he didn't lie to me on purpose. He taught it to me because Grandpa taught him, and so on."

Vera gave him one last little squeeze before letting go. "Very good. There's something more though. All your classmates were taught the same things from their families too-"

"...But they didn't turn out like me," he interrupted.

She nodded. "Indeed. If you don't mind me hazarding a guess, I think that the strength of your hate has everything to do with the strength of your love."

He blinked. "Say what?"

Vera chuckled a little at his bewildered expression. She tried her best to explain her theory. "You resisted me, my colleagues and this camp, with every ounce of your will. Past the point of rationality. Past the point where you were harming yourself and others. Why? I think it's because you couldn't let go of that big lie. Your other classmates could, because they weren't so strongly tethered to it. But for you, it's _deeply_ personal. It's almost a gospel to you."

That was certainly true. He remembered all the times his classmates would look at him weird for how obsessed he was with the Preds, and how he'd look back at them with equal disgust for not caring as much as he did.

"But even though you believed it with all your heart, you still knew it was a lie."

"Huh?"

"We all do," Vera said. "Consciously or unconsciously, we all know there's something wrong with what we're taught about Pred and Prey. The line between them is drawn so haphazardly, we can't help but doubt it. The problem is, nobody likes to feel wrong. So when we have these tiny microdoubts about an idea we've believed our whole lives, we rationalize them away. The more a cherished lie conflicts with the evidence of our own senses, the harder we have to work at those rationalizations. And the more work you invest into something, the more determined you get to protect it."

Cody got a few goosebumps at how pin-point accurate that felt for him.

"You put an extreme amount of work into defending your lie, Cody. Because it's not just something society taught you. It's something your _father_ taught you. And you love him more than anything. To undo the lie would mean-"

He cut her off. "It'd mean betraying him. I _had_ to hate the Preds, because he taught me to. And believing you instead of him would've been like slapping him in the face. Like cutting out his heart." He was staring into space, awed and terrified by the enormity of the revelation that had just slammed into him. "That was why it hurt so much..."

He slumped forward, breathing hard. "That's why... That's why I've been so fixated on betrayal. Feeling like all my friends are betraying me. Feeling like I'm betraying myself. It's all a smokescreen. It's all about Dad. About me being terrified of betraying *him*. It's always been about him..."

He looked up suddenly. "I miss him so much I wanna die sometimes," he admitted.

Vera pulled him close into another hug. She let him shudder as the foundation of so much of his life and personality cracked and crumbled into dust. She knew she'd brought this on him, and she didn't shy from the knowledge that it was her responsibility to help him rebuild now. An odd but precisely appropriate thought occurred to her: 'you break it, you buy it.'

The vixen patted her pupil on the back. "I'm guessing my theory rings true?"

He nodded mutely. She felt his chin rub against her shoulder.

"I'm also guessing that right now, doubts about your father are just starting to creep in. That's your greatest fear, isn't it? If your father was wrong about the Preds, what else could he be wrong about?"

He squeezed her, a little too hard.

"But don't look at it that way. Remember..." Here she knew she was guessing blindly. But her instinct told her she was headed along the right path. "...if your father was wrong, Cody, it was for the very best reason. From everything you've said about him, it sounds like you are the most precious thing in his life. If he taught you to always be alert to danger, he did it because he thought it was the best way to keep you safe. He did it to protect you, because he loves you so much."

Those words made a little light go on inside Cody. A warm light. His father didn't even have to be beside him now for Cody to know that his teacher's words were true. Dad had proved them already, all throughout Cody's life.

"Does that feel right?" Vera hesitantly asked.

He nuzzled her cheekfur gratefully. "Completely. Every word of it. Thank you. I feel a lot better now."

It did her heart a world of good to know she'd helped him. "You're forever welcome, Cody."

He reached up to wipe a tear from his eye. "Fuck... learning the truth about yourself is a bumpy ride," he said with a bittersweet laugh.

She laughed too. "It certainly is. It can hurt sometimes, but it's the nicest kind of hurt. Because you know you'll feel so free afterwards."

Cody leaned far back in his chair, feeling exhausted. But in a good way. "Definitely."

Vera took a moment to stretch, then smirked. "Something just occurred to me. Considering I already spoiled half of tomorrow's lesson anyway, I may as well go all the way. Would you like to know something else interesting about the Newbrains? Why we're so sure they'll help save the world?"

"Sure," he shrugged. "This is a classroom and you're a teacher; I don't think I can stop you."

She giggled. "Allright then. There's two major reasons, aside from everything else you've already experienced. Two side effects we discovered after working with them for a while. One is that Newbrains all but eliminate addictive behavior."

Cody made an 'oh really?' face.

"Addiction's a chemical process: the brain encounters a chemical, decides it likes it, and then wants more of it. But then it takes more and more of the chemical to produce the same pleasurable response. This doesn't apply to just drugs. The brain can become hooked on its *own* chemicals. That's how people can become addicted to anything that produces a strong pleasurable response, like food or gambling or even shopping."

"I know," Cody said. "One of my Dad's friends had a gambling problem. Dad told me the guy started small, but ended up losing his house and having to stay in a shelter for a while until he got some counseling."

"Exactly," Vera said. "Addiction *escalates*. And it's all because we can't consciously tell our brains how we want them to react. It's why so many people find themselves losing the ability to enjoy things they once loved. But with the Newbrain, now we *can* tell our brains to shape up and start giving us consistent responses."

Cody grinned. "So if I don't want to get bored with something I love doing, I won't!? That's awesome!"

Vera smiled. "Mm-hmm. And this is a big reason for that law I mentioned, where the GPA wants to make sure that politicians have to get a Newbrain before they can hold public office. A lot of politicians are rich people, and a lot of rich people are terribly addicted to wealth. Not just having money, but always needing MORE of it. You think gambling until you lose your house is an example of how bad addiction can get? Try gambling with the safety of a nation."

"That certainly explains some shit," Cody said. "My dad's told me a lot of times that he can't imagine why some of the other officers are always trying to squeeze more out of the budget for themselves, even when their units already have more than enough."

"I've heard it's an utterly miserable life. Never being satisfied with what you have. Always being afraid that someone, somewhere, might have more than you do." She took a moment to breathe and stretch. She noticed her throat was getting dry. She considered getting some water for herself, but didn't want to break her momentum. "So that's side-effect-that's-going-to-save-the-world number one. We know it won't get rid of ALL political corruption. That'd be like trying to get all the stupidity out of television."

Cody snerked.

"People will still have ambition, we're just hoping we can cut down on the number of people so power-crazed they don't care who their actions hurt. And what's going to cut it down even *more* is side effect number two. Remember how I said instinct is our greatest enemy? How it leads us blindly to make such poor decisions? What do you think instinct's most destructive weapon is?"

He blinked. "Ummm... emotion? Hatred? Jealousy?"

"All good answers, and it uses all of those. But the one that hurts the most people is dishonesty."

He raised an eyebrow.

"I'm completely serious! We simply don't think dishonesty's that bad of a sin, but almost all other sins grow out of it. Do you want to hear what I consider to be the wisest words ever written? It's from a Shakespeare play: Hamlet. Most people have heard the line, 'to thine own self be true', and they assume it means being true to yourself."

That seemed like a pretty safe assumption. "...It doesn't?"

"No, they're missing the meaning behind the full quote." Vera paused a moment to make sure she had the words right, then recited, "This above all: to thine own self be true. And it must follow, as the night the day, thou canst not then be false to any man."

Cody 'hm'ed. It certainly sounded smart. But he wasn't sure how the meaning had changed.

Vera noticed his unsure expression. "What it boils down to is, 'If you make it a priority to be honest with yourself, you'll automatically be more honest towards others.' I especially like the "this above all" at the beginning, emphasizing its importance. Willy knew what he was talking about."

"Okay, I like that. Not sure I'm seeing how it's the most important thing ever written though."

Vera smirked at him. "Well, just look at everything denial caused *you* to do, Cody."

THAT certainly slammed it into focus. He winced. "Okay, I think I get it. If I'd just been able to accept that the whole Pred/Prey thing was bullshit a long time ago, none of the bad stuff that happened here would have happened." And as he thought about the past few days, he began to fully see how *much* would have changed. It made his mind boggle a little. He might've had a blast all week, glad to be free of The Box, happy to learn from Vera and let Rick teach him more about archery. He could have gone rock-climbing with Kenny and Frank... He still felt like an asshole for not taking that opportunity. Best to change the subject and not dwell. "Are you saying the Newbrain somehow makes people more honest?"

"Well, it doesn't 'make' people more honest," Vera said. "The scientists tried their best to make sure the Newbrain was as unobtrusive as possible. But in this instance, what it does is amplify your own inner morality." She grinned. "Tell me a lie, Cody."

He shrugged. "I am eighty feet tall." Nothing seemed to happen when he said it.

The vixen snickered. "No, I meant a *real* lie. Tell me something as if you're trying to convince me of it, but in your heart you know you're being completely untruthful."

Cody said the first thing that popped into his head: "I've never stolen money from my dad's wallet."

This time the response was immediate. His cheeks burned red hot and he felt a lump in his throat. The memory replayed in his head in crystal clear detail: him being nine and stealing from Dad to buy that alien toy he'd seen at the store. His terror of being caught was gradually replaced by shame that lasted a long, long time. Made worse somehow by the fact that Dad never did catch him. He couldn't look at that toy for months without feeling like a worthless asshole. Eventually he gave it away. The same feeling of disgrace he'd felt back then consumed Cody completely for a moment.

The boy's reaction could not have been more blatantly apparent. Vera had practically seen 'I AM LYING' appear on his forehead. She didn't press him on whatever memory had inspired his lie. She could tell he was embarrassed enough as it is. "What did that feel like, Cody?"

"Ummm... like my conscience just punched me in the face from the inside."

"I'll have to remember that description, it's very striking! ...No pun intended," she chuckled. "But the Newbrain didn't do that to you; YOU did. Your conscience did, just like you said. The Newbrain simply tells your instinctual defense mechanisms to preemptively shut up. Lying is easy because our instincts throw such amazing tantrums at the thought of ever being wrong. So they tell us, 'Lie more! Never accept blame! Admitting when you're wrong is a weakness!' And it feels so much better to believe that than to feel the shame we know we deserve."

Cody gulped. "So am I gonna feel like that every time I lie?"

She nodded. "If you know you're deliberately not telling the truth, then absolutely."

"I guess I'm completely screwed forever then."

"Not at all!" she said with a giggle. "Admittedly, yes, you will probably find yourself wincing a lot more than normal for the next few weeks as you realize how much you automatically lie without even realizing it. And you'll even feel your Newbrain nagging you when you say something so ignorant that even *you* know better. We all do things like that sometimes; we get into a heated argument and are so desperate to get the last word in that all sorts of crazy things pop out of our mouths. From now on, Cody, you are going to be an absolutely terrible liar. Not only are you going to kick yourself every time you do, and you'll feel it a lot harder, but other people will see your reactions clear as day."

He groaned. "Like I said: screwed forever."

She lightly swatted him with her tail. "You say that now, but it won't take long for you to realize just how *unnecessary* lying usually is. Even before I got my Newbrain, I had an experience, a rather personal one, that made me vow to be as honest with myself as I could possibly be. And I have. I've worked at it with all my heart, and I have never regretted that decision. My friendships are stronger now. I talk difficult things over with people instead of just saying what I think they want me to say. I don't try to rationalize away my own bad behavior. When someone tells me I'm wrong, I think about it instead of getting upset. And if I really am wrong, I accept it gratefully, because I know I can't learn more until I admit where my knowledge needs improvement."

Okay, that all sounded reasonable. "What if I ever *have* to lie though?" He tried to think of a good example. "What if, like, I have to cover for a friend at school because he's got some family emergency he's gotta deal with? Or if some jerks come to the door trying to sell Dad aluminum siding, and I want to let him relax?"

"Then it'll be just like when you told me you were eighty feet tall; if your conscience knows you're not doing anything wrong, then it won't 'punch you in the face'," she said with a smile.

"Almost everyone wants to be a good furson, Cody. We all see ourselves as the main character of our life story, and with rare exception, we see ourselves as the 'good guy'. You can still lie with a Newbrain, but it'll never be easy again. And you'll always have to face the fact that you're acting against your own morals. No one likes that feeling of shame and regret. When they know they can't avoid it anymore, they'll be less likely to do the things that *cause* them to feel it. That's why the Newbrain is so devastatingly effective. You can always find a reason to justify why someone else's judgment about you is wrong. But from now on, YOU will be your own judge," she said, pointing right at his heart. "And your verdicts will be inescapable."

Cody felt a shiver run up his spine.

"I can tell I'm scaring the pants off you," she said gently. "But really, it's quite nice in the long run."

"No, it's just..." He rubbed the side of his head. "I'm already thinking about all the things I'm guilty of. I realize I've shat all over everyone here who tried to be nice to me. I know I'm going to be lonely and miserable for the rest of the time I'm here. And I deserve that," he said resolutely. "I deserve to be punished. I do."

She shook her head affectionately. "Oh, I don't think so. I think you've been through enough pain for a lifetime, Cody. I don't see any benefit in heaping more onto yourself."

He smiled. It felt good to hear her say something like that to him. "Thanks. There's a part of me that *does* want to feel better. Desperately. But then another part's like, 'That's the easy way out! You've been a pile of shit and you deserve to feel as much suffering as you've caused!'"

"That's very noble to feel that way. I'm glad to see you have such a strong sense of fairness."

Suddenly, an absolutely wonderful idea popped into her head.

A bright smile uncurled across the vixen's muzzle. "...But what if I could suggest an alternative?"

Her glee was intriguing. "Like what?"

She grinned even more. "Just you wait!" She patted her uniform pockets all over until she found her phone. She tapped out a quick message to her colleagues and eagerly awaited their responses. "I'm arranging a surprise for you, Cody."

His ears perked up. He knew he didn't deserve it, but if she was going to do something nice for him to cheer him up, it would *definitely* be welcomed. Hell, even a warm meal would be wonderful at this point.

Vera twirled her tail around her finger as she waited. Then she got a response. "Oh good!" Just what she was hoping for. "The surprise is on its way!" she announced.

"Can you give me a hint? How long's it gonna take to get here?" he asked eagerly.

She 'boop'ed him on the forehead. "You just wait, Mr. Impatient. It won't be long."

"Arrrrrgh," he deadpanned. He stood up and stretched again. He looked up at the windows and was a little surprised it was still sunny out. It felt like he'd been talking with Vera for hours. "Geez, what time is it?"

She checked her watch. "Getting close to dinnertime. Are you hungry?"

"Fucking ravenous."

She giggled. "The cafeteria should be open plenty long enough for you to run over there and fill your tummy after I get you Rejuvenated."

"Oh, right. I completely forgot about that." He rubbed the back of his head, feeling the little smooth bandage stuck to his fur. He was kind of interested to see what being in a Rejuvenator felt like. It was weird to think he'd already been in one, after being decapitated with Petra, yet he didn't remember it.

Vera looked the young chipmunk up and down. It was kind of astonishing how much he'd changed in such a short time. His tone of voice, his body language. An incredible amount of tension had left him, she could tell. "How're you feeling overall?"

He looked down at his shoes and fidgeted a bit as he thought. "Pretty good. Clearer. Way less angry. Kinda regretful but also hopeful at the same time. Also, kinda afraid I'll fuck all this up and be back to 'psycho Cody' by tomorrow."

She smiled sympathetically. "Not if you choose to be different," she said.

He nodded. Out of the blue, he suddenly missed his Dad more than ever. He wanted to hug him and share how great it felt to be so in control of himself now. "When're you guys gonna help me find my dad? You will, right?"

"Of course. A promise is a promise." The vixen walked over to pat him on the arm. "In two days it'll be a full week since you and all the other kids arrived. We have had a *massive* intelligence-gathering operation going on all this time to locate and keep an eye on everyone's parents. We're going to have helicopters and trucks and jeeps pour in and take everyone where they belong. Of course..." she bit her lip, "...you know we'll be asking everyone to help us recruit their parents. We won't force anyone, but we will ask."

Cody fully expected this, and was amused that at least one of his crazy suspicions had turned out correct. He sighed and tried to imagine asking his father to join the GPA. It was like expecting the sun to start revolving backwards. No matter how much Cody had resisted, Dad would resist more. And Dad had a lot more experience than him at violence, evasion and strategy. If the Preds took him to a camp like this, there would be bloodshed. No doubt about it.

"I'll consider it," he lied. And as Vera had warned, he felt it hard.

She saw the twinge of chagrin on his face. She didn't think he was lying out of malice, but out of worry for what might happen if he agreed to her request. "We'll see," she said gently. "We had a plan for him set up from the start. A rather elaborate one actually. But I won't ask you to participate in anything you think is doomed to failure. You know your father better than any of us do."

Cody was about to respond when he heard a knock at the door.

Vera's tail wagged a bit. "Oh, I nearly forgot! That's your surprise!" She held out her hand. "Shall we go see it?"

Her sudden sunny demeanor was a little embarrassing, but he didn't mind much. Cody took her hand in his. "Sure."

Together they walked across the quiet classroom. When they reached the door, Vera motioned for Cody to close his eyes. Feeling a little silly, he did. "Allright then..."

He heard her open the door.

"Surprise!"

Cody opened his eyes.

In the next room stood Walter, Frank and Kenny.





--Chapter Fifteen--


"Oh SHIT!"

Cody's first response was to scamper behind Vera for cover. None of his three 'friends' looked very pleased to see him. Even worse, Gilda The Enormous was standing just behind the trio, looking down at Cody with a smile that said he looked awfully tasty.

The chipmunk peeked out from behind the fox. "Um, hi guys." He looked up at Vera and hissed, "...What are they doing here? *This* is the surprise!?"

Vera gave him a smirk that scored a perfect ten on the mischievousness scale. "You said earlier that you deserved to be punished, and I said I didn't see the point in it. Instead of you flogging yourself, I thought a more productive solution would be for you to start repairing the damage you've done." She tapped his chest with her pointer finger. "You're going to be doing an awful lot of apologizing tonight and tomorrow, so I thought I'd help by getting three of your most personal ones out of the way now."

Cody blushed considerably. He kind of hated her and loved her at the same time for this idea. It was embarrassing as all hell, but undeniably less so than apologizing in the middle of class, or simply shying away in shame around everyone else for the remainder of the week.

Vera gave the reluctant boy a gentle push in the direction of his bunkmates. "Thanks for bringing them, Gilda," she said to her colleague.

"My pleasure," replied the malamute.

Cody had ducked behind Vera so fast that he had only glanced in the direction of the others. On second look, it wasn't Walter after all. It was just some bunny who had similar fur. Who was he? Cody didn't remember hurting him. Was he the one in the bunkbed whose leg got broken? No, he thought he remembered that Cameron was a mouse. 'Wow, *that* apology is gonna suck too,' he thought. He looked the bunny up and down, trying to figure out who the fuck-

His eyes suddenly bulged.

"WALTER!?"

The bunny crossed his arms and chuckled.

Cody actually stumbled back a little. "Sweet shit on a plate!! You actually did it!?"

Walter's grin was consummate satisfaction. "I'm amazed you figured it out."

"Well, you still do have your spots."

The former feline looked up and down his arms. "Yeah, one of the few things I liked about my old self. Plus, how cool is a bobcat-patterned bunny?"

"It looks... pretty badass," Cody had to admit.

"Why thank you," Walter replied. "Now, I think Miss Vera said something about you *apologizing* to me?" he added with a sudden menacing firmness in his tone.

Cody swallowed hard. He was not good at apologies. He usually preferred burning bridges to building them. "You're right, you deserve one," he said seriously. He pushed past humiliation and took solace in his sense of honor. He'd caused pain, and he knew he deserved to feel it. If that meant standing here with his cheeks candy-apple red, he was getting off easy.

Cody looked Walter over and remembered strangling him just a few days ago. It was hard to believe now that he'd let himself go so far down the hellhole. "I'm sorry," he started. "I really am, genuinely. I feel... disgusted when I think of what I did to you. And there's no explanation for it. I just saw you being happy and it pissed me off." He shrugged. "It's inexcusable. I can't believe that was actually me holding you down, trying to choke you. I can't believe you can even look at me after that."

Walter, arms still crossed, just 'hmmph'ed. "Cody, you're so arrogant."

The chipmunk's head popped up and he felt a brief flash of anger at the bunny's smug tone, but he suppressed it.

Walter walked a step closer to poke Cody not too delicately in the breastbone. "I didn't curl up in a ball and cry all night after what you did. They carried me to the Rejuvenator, I called you an asshole, and then I went back to the bunkhouse and forgot about it."

Cody was a bit stunned. "How?"

"I'm not anyone's victim anymore," Walter said with a sneer. "I've been through worse than you could ever imagine doing to me. I've been openly transgenus since I was SIX, Cody. Can you comprehend how much shit I've had to wade through because of that? You're not the first furson to have me on the floor in a chokehold. Imagine your own father doing that, then maybe you'll get an idea of why you're nothing more than a mosquito to me."

Cody felt like he'd just been gut-punched, and the fist had gone straight through the other side. Partly it was from Walter saying 'imagine YOUR father'. The mental image had come to him of looking up into Dad's face, twisted with rage, as the furson he loved most in the world tried to murder him. Cody *couldn't* imagine that. At least, not for more than a second without having to push the horrible thought away. He knew he had no hope of comprehending the horror of actually having lived through that.

Walter saw in the chipmunk's eyes that his words had gotten through crystal clear. The bunny was a bit surprised actually. He'd expected Cody to puff himself up and get all pissy and defensive. "What'd you do to him?" he asked Miss Vera approvingly.

"Why don't you show him, Cody?" the vixen suggested.

Cody nodded, then turned around in a circle, revealing the little bandage on the back of his head.

"NO FUCKING *WAY*!!!" Kenny shouted.

Cody suppressed a chuckle at his friend's wide-eyed expression of sheer disbelief. But he looked away quickly, and felt ashamed for thinking of Kenny as his 'friend'. Cody didn't deserve the honor of calling him that anymore.

Walter started giggling. "The irony's too much. _You_ let them give you a Newbrain!?"

Cody mumbled an affirmative.

Vera patted the chipmunk on the shoulder. "Don't tease him too much, Walter. I know he's hurt you, all of you, but he's been in a lot of pain himself this past week. We talked for a long time today, and he really impressed me with how much he's already worked to face his behavior and begin changing it."

Walter arched an eyebrow. "That true?" he asked Cody.

Cody looked up at his former enemy, eye to eye, and nodded. "Yes."

Walter's paw popped up for a shake. "Then congratulations! Maybe you won't die alone and empty after all!"

Awed that he'd allow it, Cody took the offered hand. "I hope not. And thank you for forgiving me."

Walter made an 'ah ah ah' sound. "Not just yet. This is just me showing you I'm *willing* to forgive. You prove I don't have to keep my guard up around you and _then_ I will. I like having less people who hate me, but I've been backstabbed more than you can imagine."

"I'll bet," Cody said. "And I promise, I'll leave you alone if you want me to."

"No more deals," the bunny said. "Just don't be a dick anymore."

He chuckled. "Fair enough."

Well, that had gone better than expected! Now for apology number two. Cody turned to face Frank.

The zebragirl stood with her body relaxed, yet her expression was closed off like a fortress. Her eyes stared through him with a passive contempt so total it practically sucked his soul out.

Cody withered a bit under that cold, effortlessly debilitating stare. Looking at Frank now, he didn't have to go back down the dark hallway in his mind to see how pathetically in denial he'd been about her. He had a crush on her, plain and simple. Always had. Jealousy had led him by his nose, letting him believe this whole time that his anger had grown from a noble distrust of the Preds. In reality, he hated that maned wolf guy because he'd stolen Cody's imaginary girlfriend. 'Well, you've dynamited your chances with her to smithereens, genius,' he thought, drilling all the shame he deserved into himself like a corkscrew in his gut.

Making eye contact with Frank was impossible. Cody got as close as he dared to those orbs. She looked like she could shoot out lasers and disintegrate him with as little effort as yawning. "What I did to you... I can't tell you how ashamed and stupid I feel for that. If you want to haul off and slap me for-"

*POW*!!!

Cody was on one knee on the ground, feeling like an entire hive's worth of hornets had all divebombed his left cheek in the same instant.

"Miss Tanondo!!" Vera shouted, shocked.

Frank gave her a 'what are you upset about?' look. "He said I could!"

Cody slowly rose to his feet, feeling around in his mouth to make sure he still had all his teeth. "No... No, Vera. She's right. I did say she could." He rubbed his cheek. "Holy FUCK did that hurt!!"

Frank was unable to hold back a very small giggle.

Cody looked at her with all the sincerity his throbbing cheek allowed. "What you just did couldn't have hurt more than what I said to you, and I apologize. I was jealous of you and that wolf guy. Not just because the idea of Pred and Prey couples still weirds me out a little, but also because..." He flinched in anticipation of another slap. "...I've always liked you."

Her eyebrows went up.

Cody put a hand over his eyes. He couldn't watch her reaction. "Not like in a creepy stalker way. I just liked how I saw you act. That first day in The Box, how you stood up and told Mrs. Buchanon to her face that she was wrong, and you wouldn't back down; I really admired that. I like your sense of honor. And now that I think back on it, minus all the petty, whiny envy I was feeling at the time, you were amazing during that soccer game. I wish I could see you play more often."

He dared to look. The glare was still there, but it had softened a tiny bit.

"I'm never going to be your girlfriend," she said flatly.

"One hundred percent completely understood," he replied.

Frank nodded, glad he was accepting of that fact and wasn't going to try to 'win her over' like in some retarded romantic comedy. Vomit. "And you're right. What you said to me hurt. More than you can imagine."

She sighed. "But..."

Cody was surprised. "But what? I was a cockhole: end of story."

"No," Frank said, surprisingly firmly. She appreciated what he'd said about admiring her honor. And because of that, she had to adhere to it. "The truth is, you were right. At least halfway. You were right in The Most Jerkish Way Possible..." she snarled out.

He flinched.

"...but you were right that me asking Ethan over to the bunkhouse in the middle of the damn night was a stupid idea. If it hadn't been you who'd spotted us, it might've been someone else. Someone might have panicked. Someone might've punched Ethan's lights out. It was a dumb idea, and I wasn't thinking. Because I'd found somebody I really liked and I just couldn't wait to be with him some more."

Cody's cheeks burned. Jealousy poked him in the ribs a few times, but the Newbrain made it easier to shoo the little bastard away. "I hope I didn't ruin that," Cody said.

"You almost did," Frank said menacingly. "But I chased Ethan down afterwards and we talked it out and we're fine now." The zebra pointed a finger in the chipmunk's face. "Though if I'd lost him for good, I would have never forgiven you," she said, and clearly meant it.

Cody nodded. And, respecting Frank's honor, he mirrored it. "I'm glad that didn't happen then. I hope you guys're happy together. I'll apologize to him too if he wants me to."

Frank smiled a little, happy to see that this little runt had grown up a bit. "He might. And I also gotta say that I realize I shouldn't have laughed at you. I know that set you off. If you'd been wondering, yes, I laughed, and yes, it was at you, and I realize that I kind of brought your wrath on myself. I should have known that if you pull the pin on a hand grenade, it explodes."

"Thank you," Cody said, a bit awed she'd concede that. He put out his hand and she shook it.

Then she pointed at the remaining rabbit in the room. "Plus, your friend Kenny talked to me the next day and tried to explain things from your side. I probably wouldn't have acknowledged you were right about jack shit if he hadn't."

Cody blinked, more than a little stunned. He turned to look at Kenny.

The rabbit smiled shyly.

Tears almost came to Cody's eyes. After all the shit he'd put Kenny through... all the mood swings and bitching and insults and cold shoulders... his friend had done that for him too.

In a very soft voice, Cody asked, "Why were you ever my friend?"

His tone conveyed a deeper layer: 'How could such an amazingly loyal furson as you put up with a sack of shit like me?'

Kenny shrugged. "I dunno. I like you."

Cody walked towards him and hugged him. "I'm sorry. I can't believe I hit you like that. I'm so sorry. You don't have to forgive me, I don't deserve it."

Kenny patted him on the back. "Don't worry too much about it. I saw your eyes this morning: you were fucking *gone*. Tycho's not mad at you either. We both just wondered what the hell got into you to make you lose your lid like that."

"Fear," Cody replied. "Stupid fear. A lot of it."

Kenny nodded. "You _looked_ scared, man. I've never seen anyone else panic that much before. You pee your pants?"

Cody chuckled. "No. By a miracle, I did not."

And just like that they were friends again. Cody was humbled by how easy it was. It almost seemed *too* easy. 'Then again, maybe this is normal. Maybe normal people usually forgive this easily when you just ask them.' Whether or not that was true, he thought he wanted to be like that from now on.

Cody looked up, noticing Gilda was still in the room and that she'd been standing by quietly the whole time. "Um, I don't remember if I ever did anything specifically jerkish to you, but if I did, I apologize also."

She giggled. "No worries, little Prey."

He blushed at that.

Vera sensed that things had come to a satisfying conclusion. She walked over to Cody to pat him on the head. "That went well, wouldn't you say?"

"I was just thinking that."

The grey fox addressed the others in the room. "I have to go get Cody Rejuvenated now, but he's free afterwards if any of you want to talk more."

"Allright," Kenny said. He gave Cody a poke. "There's supposed to be a Tengu Squares tournament in the game room after dinner. You wanna join in?"

He'd never played before, but just being invited felt wonderful. "Yeah, absolutely."

"I'll be there," Frank said. "I'll bring Ethan."

'Eek. More apologies,' Cody thought. He knew he had a truckload more to get through ('ESPECIALLY RICK!!!' his conscience yelled), and he figured not all of them would go well, but the idea didn't make him cringe as much now.

Walter piped up. "*I* have a painting that needs finishing up in the art room, so I won't be joining you for that. But I'll be around elsewhere."

"You paint?" Cody asked.

"Wanna see it?" Walter offered.

The chipmunk grinned. "Yes, I would."

"If you're just saying that so you can get close enough to smash it, I'll hotglue your nostrils shut."

Cody laughed his ass off.


*****


Outside the classroom building, the sun was starting to roll back in the sky, leaving the first traces of pink and purple among the clouds. With her hand on his shoulder, Vera led Cody out and towards the medical building.

"What's the Rejuvenator feel like?" he asked.

"Tingly," she replied. "Most people really enjoy it. It leaves your fur all fluffed up."

Suddenly, from behind them both, came an ear-splitting, "HEY!"

That VOICE!!!

Cody whirled around and saw Petra Penmark just starting to hoist herself up from where she'd been sitting in the grass beside the building.

Vera looked surprised too. "How did you know Cody would be here?"

The foxette snorted. "It's all anybody's talking about." She grinned at Cody. "You're famous. Everywhere I go, people are talking about your insane rampage of fiery destruction. Word got out that you were caught and taken here, and people've been betting on what kinda tortures they've been giving you."

'Oh, great,' Cody thought. Apologizing just got a lot more complicated. Now he undoubtedly had a reputation as a crazed lunatic.

The fox smiled at him in an oddly affectionate way. She tapped her forehead. "The pod people got you too, huh?"

He chuckled. "Yeah. It wasn't as bad as I was expecting it to be."

Vera let them talk, but gave Cody's sleeve a tug so they could continue on towards the medical building.

Petra followed along. "Same here. I was flat-out climbing-the-walls terrified at first."

A thought occurred. "Wait... did you get yours *before* you ran into me this morning?" Cody asked, a bit of anger creeping into his voice. "Is that why you turned me in?"

"No, actually," she reassured. "I... I asked for one right afterwards."

He raised an eyebrow. In the quiet, he could hear the gravel crunch beneath their footsteps.

Petra looked at him with an uncomfortable pleading in her eyes. "Don't get mad at me for this, but... you kinda inspired me. You scared the shit out of me, Cody. Especially with that knife. I'd been horrified by the idea of Newbrains before that, but then suddenly I found myself thinking, 'Is this what a normal brain can do to someone? Make them _this crazy_?'"

He couldn't really blame her for having that reaction. He'd almost forgotten all about the knife. He had actually been waving it around in her face. 'One more thing to add to the pile of things to feel awful about.'

"I talked it over with Mrs. Lyubov for a long time," the foxgirl continued. "I'd already been doing a hell of a lot of thinking after watching you die last night. The relief when I woke up today was..." She gestured to show there simply wasn't words. Then she grinned with a trace of her previous devilishness. "Implanted memories... You moron!" she playfully swatted his arm.

Cody laughed. "Yeah, yeah. That was ridiculous, I know."

Petra got serious again. "Seeing you go apeshit made me realize; that's where I was heading. And I didn't wanna go there. I had a chance to turn in a different direction. So, in a way, thank you," she told him with a little smile.

Cody stopped walking and turned to her. He looked into her eyes and realized how calm they appeared compared to yesterday. She'd changed as much as he had, and seemed just as happy. He remembered her screaming, throwing chairs, spewing hatred like it was radioactive waste. He remembered them beating the everliving hell out of each other.

"I'm sorry," he told her.

"I'm sorry too," she replied.

Vera turned around just in time to see the fox and chipmunk hug one another.

Her warmth added to his. Her arms squeezed him like she didn't want to let go. Cody felt a wave of emotion pass through him so intense it made him shake. There was sadness and grief for how much of his life he'd wasted, but also hopeful optimism and joy too. Everything in his life had turned around so fast. "Yesterday... I never could have imagined the two of us doing this," he said.

She nodded. She felt Cody's cheekfur rustle against her own. "...And now it feels like the only right thing to do."

"Exactly," he said, and closed his eyes, simply enjoying how much better it felt this way.





-~*~- -~*~- -~*~- -~*~- -~*~-





--Epilogue--


"Wake up, please."

Parker St. John found his mind suddenly shoved towards consciousness, images of his son's death still burned into his vision.

He had known in his deepest guts that putting Cody in The Box was a bad idea. But everyone, all his coworkers and friends, had kept on telling him, "It's the safest place in the world! It's the SAFEST PLACE!" And look how that'd turned out. When he'd gotten the news that the Preds had used their fucking magic to swoop in and steal every last child in the place, Parker had felt something detach from his soul and disintegrate. He had sat on the edge of his bed for four hours straight, staring at the floor, while half of him insisted that Cody might be alive, and half of him insisted that that was a fool's hope. Not knowing was the worst feeling in the world. Like having a knife buried deep inside him, constantly turning.

He'd been scheduled to deploy to a tiny island country where satellite photos had shown a compound in the jungle that was damn-near proven to be the Great Predator Army's base of operations. Many people had asked him if he wanted to take a leave of absence to deal with his grief. He had nailed them to the ground with the look in his eyes. It didn't need to be said: 'I will deal with my grief through action.'

The Preds had taken the best part of his life away from him, so it was only fair to repay suffering with suffering. Parker did not feel pleasure at the thought of his assignment, only an ice-cold sense of rightness.

He had led a massive troop deployment. They had surrounded the Predator base from all sides, including sea and air. But it had been a trap. Right from the beginning it had been a trap. What they found was a sprawling abandoned sugar factory. The satellite photos had been fake. The Preds had pulled off, on a global scale, the old trick of taping a still photo in front of a security camera.

But that wasn't their best trick. The entire country was a pitcher plant. As soon as his men had hit the ground, problems started cropping up. Travel routes became blocked. Vehicles started breaking down one by one. Everything that could have gone missing did, including all their gas masks and anti-bioweapons gear. He had been informed there was a small native population on the island, mostly rabbits, but they were either all gone when they got there or ghosts. It was like the island itself was alive and taking delight in toying with them.

Once they reached the sugar factory and found out the truth, that was when all hell had broken loose. Every plane they had in the air was hit with targeted electrical attacks, forcing the pilots to either bail out or pull off near-miracle landings. Unseen mines had been detonated along the hulls of their ships offshore. The ships sank just slowly enough to give everyone aboard time to escape. Parker had to give his enemy credit. They were far more skilled than anyone had been prepared for. He didn't know whether it was honor or passive-aggressive sadism that had compelled them to send such a clear message: We could have killed your men, but we chose not to.

The disappearances started. And for days they were relentless. The sugar factory was the only solid structure on the island capable of housing his men, so, knowing he was likely playing into the GPA's hands but unable to do anything else, Parker had ordered it transformed into a fortress. Teams that left the base for recon or supply-gathering simply never came back, no matter how many there were, no matter how well they were armed. Like quicksand had swallowed them up. The only option became 'never leave the base'. And even _then_ the abductions didn't stop. If there was ever a gap in their security, the Preds would get in, invisibly as always, and take another five, seven, a dozen soldiers.

It had seemed a miracle that the radio still worked, despite everything else going tits up. Parker had called home and demanded drone surveillance of the entire island, plus air transport for as many of his remaining men as possible. The wait for his request to be granted was excruciating. Several days later, three fat choppers came out of the east like descending angels. Parker had let his men choose for themselves who wanted to stay and fight and likely die. He did not think less of those who chose to leave. Most of them had families. He made a point of telling them that he respected their choice to prioritize their loved ones over striking blindly within the heart of a deathtrap. He watched his troops board and the helicopters rise into the sky with relief. And then the markings on their sides dropped away to reveal the logo of the Great Predator Army. He had delivered his men into the hands of the enemy. He screamed his throat raw.

From then on, it was a waiting game. He kept his few remaining men as safe as he could behind the walls of the sugar factory. Huddled in the center, surrounded by traps. He knew the Preds would not be able to resist coming after the last holdouts. So he would wait for them. As long as it took. He would not leave this island until he had felt warm blood running down his wrists.

Then yesterday morning, the impossible had happened. Lt. Kittering had spotted a small figure running along the beach. It was a child, a prey child. His torn clothes and slight limp suggested he'd escaped from somewhere. And he was a chipmunk, who happened to look a lot like Cody.

Parker had debated for a moment simply ignoring the child. This felt too good to be true. But looking through the binoculars himself, he knew his son on sight. And he knew that if anyone could have outsmarted these unholy bastards, it was Cody. Parker had ordered a flare sent up and a single door left open with as many guards as possible aiming guns at the entrance.

The moment when his office door had opened and his men led Cody inside was one of indescribable joy and relief. Father and son ran to each other and hugged, vowing in their hearts to never let go again.

And then, Cody had looked up into his eyes and said, "I'm sorry."

Before Parker's eyes, his son had detonated himself into a cloud of nerve gas.

He was unconscious before he hit the floor.

Now he was waking up here, an unknown amount of time later. As his bleary eyes adjusted to the bright light, all he could see for a moment was white and silver. He looked down and realized he was handcuffed to a metal chair, his legs and torso strapped down too, seated before a metal table.

On the table was a lightsaw; a surgery tool with a laser blade, meant for emergency amputations. Parker guessed where this was heading.

The rest of the room was mirrored. Twin giant mirrors, tilted inward slightly, made up the whole top half of the room. Two-way glass undoubtedly. He had an audience. At the end of the room was another door. Beside it was a large machine with an oval bubble dominating the center. It looked like a stasis pod from a sci fi film. Was that what they'd transported him in? Or was that going to be another part of his torture?

"Are we fully awake?" came the voice again.

Parker's ears twitched. The voice was behind him. Female. Younger than thirty. Pred.

Lieutenant Vera Delamoor stepped out from behind the chair, eyeing her captive carefully. Her shoes tap-tapped on the tile floor. Her tail sailed along gracefully behind her like a little grey cloud. "I apologize for the restraints, Mr. St. John, but I wanted to speak to you without worrying that you'll jump up and kill me."

His eyes followed her every move. He gave her a polite, charming smile. "That's a smart worry."

She nodded. "At least we know the situation. I'm your enemy; you are mine. I can't tell you where you are right now-"

"...But I can see that logo on your armband just fine. That's all I need to know."

The man's voice was quiet but she could hear a dangerous strength in it. She watched him as he watched her move around the room.

Parker St. John was a lean, canny man. His eyes were terrifying. Though the rest of his face and body seemed relaxed, keeping a professional attitude about things, his eyes were red-ringed and pulsed with a deep, calm hatred. They were black voids of infinite murderous intent. They followed every move she made. She swore he could even see her heart beating.

Vera gulped, trying to keep in control. She reminded herself that this man had a right to his hatred after what her colleagues had put him through.

He did not ask what they wanted from him. He waited, and made her speak first.

Vera sighed. "Your defiance feels so familiar it gives me goosebumps. I look at you and everything about you says you're Cody's father."

The man twitched visibly. "You don't have any right to speak of my son."

"He and I know each other quite well," Vera replied.

Parker held the chair's armrests tight enough to make the veins on the back of his hands stand out. "Your people took him away from me. I watched him die. You scooped my heart out and made me into a man with nothing to lose." A single bead of sweat ran down his forehead. "Ma'am, whoever you are, I hope you plan on killing me. Because I promise you, if you leave any part of me alive, I will end you. Wherever we are, I will lay waste to it with no thought given to my own safety. Because I have nothing to live for at this point. Nothing except becoming the worst monster of your deepest nightmares."

Vera actually had to brace herself against the table after that.

He saw the tremble in her arm and his smile returned. "That's good. That's a good reaction. A smart one. I can see you're smart enough to take me seriously, Ma'am. I am the kind of man who would take up smoking purely to justify keeping your severed head on my desk as an ashtray. It's smart of you to believe me on that."

Vera stood up a little straighter. "I do. And I completely understand."

"You can't," he said immediately, very quietly.

"You're right. I don't yet have any children of my own, so I can't know the loss you feel right now. But maybe I can help make it better."

His eyebrows went up. It was an effort to keep the bile down in his throat. "Was that meant to be an insult? Because I think you *really* don't understand the loss I'm feeling, if you think ANYTHING you could do could make it better!!"

He had gone from a whisper to a roar so abruptly it made her stumble back a few steps. This man was cuffed and restrained in a metal chair, and she was _deathly_ afraid of him.

Vera gulped. She walked over to the cooler to splash some water on her throat. "Nothing at all, Mr. St. John? Not even if your son walked through that door right now?"

The look of contempt he gave her was like sinking his fingers into her intestines. "How dare you even suggest that."

Vera reached up to tap twice on the mirrored wall.

The door opened.

For a moment, Parker St. John lost every trace of his sanity.

His son walked through the door. His son. His Cody. Alive. But...

God no.

He was wearing their uniform.

The young chipmunk was dressed in black jeans and a black leather bomber jacket with a white shirt underneath. He had a fighter pilot's cap with sunglasses resting on the brim. And a red armband. He was branded with their logo.

Cody shuddered as he entered. He loved his father, but it was torture putting him through this. It had broken his heart to participate in the plan to kidnap him along with the last of the island's holdouts. Yet Cody knew that what the GPA had told him was true: their plan was the best way to end the situation without anyone dying, and no one could have gotten through those factory doors but him.

Parker St. John's aura of control began to fracture. Vera could see his breathing speed up. The man kept rigidly still in his seat, but she saw his eyes swirling around, desperate to explain the impossibility across the table from him.

"This is a trick," he said in a cracked voice.

"No it's not, Dad," Cody insisted gently. He kept his distance for now, but he did sit down at the opposite end of the table. "I'm me."

"You CAN'T be!" Parker shouted. He stared into his son's eyes, wanting it to be true but not willing to fall for yet another of his enemy's mindscrews. "I watched you die."

"You only thought you did," Cody said. "I was completely safe the entire time. These guys have tech like you wouldn't believe."

That was just about the only thing he did believe. The Preds had proven beyond his satisfaction that they possessed stealth technology far beyond anything he could imagine. Parker was not a man to concede a fight easily, but one couldn't win against something one knew nothing about. When that had become clear, he had simply tried to keep as many of his men as he could safe from it. From _them_. From the enemy that did nothing but take until nothing was left.

"Why?" he asked his son. His eyes had moistened slightly.

Cody didn't need clarification. He looked down at his shiny new uniform. "Because they're right, Dad."

Parker shut his eyes tight and shook his head. Vera heard a single sob escape him. He looked up at her suddenly, his eyes blazing. "What did you do to him? What did you put in him? This isn't my son anymore. It's not enough you have to take him from me physically, you have to steal his mind too? Do you think you can break my will, is that it?"

Vera lowered her head and turned away. Nothing she said would be listened to.

Cody smacked his hand down on the table to get his father's attention. "Dad!! Listen to me. When they first kidnapped me, I remembered everything you ever taught me about Preds, and I fought them for as long as I could. I stayed on alert the whole time. I kept my eye out for any holes in their security. My only goal was to get free and find you and bring in the soldiers so we could clean this place out. Together. I fought and resisted and resisted and *resisted* for as long as I possibly could. I fought with every ounce of my heart, and do you know why I eventually gave in? Because they're right. It's that simple. We were wrong about them. I gave in because all my suspicions kept ending up wrong, and I turned against my friends, and I tore this camp apart trying to justify keeping on hating and fearing the Preds, until I couldn't do it anymore."

Parker seemed to pull himself back to sanity. He took a deep breath and met Cody's gaze. "If you're really my son, you would have never given up, because I know my son never would. You saw what they wanted you to see."

Cody shook his head angrily. "No! Dad, I held onto that conspiracy-thinking for as long as I could, and all I was doing was inventing stuff to scare myself with. If you know me, then you know I love you more than anything, because you're the best Dad in the world, because you're _fair_. You're fair and you're smart and you listen. You have to listen to me now. I wouldn't be wearing this uniform," he tugged on his jacket, "if I didn't believe in what it stands for. They're not our enemy, Dad."

"I believe you," Parker said sadly. "I believe that you believe everything you're saying. But I also know that they got to you somehow. They set up a show, and you took it for real, and I'm sorry."

He turned to Vera. "I had almost begun to think that your people had some honor. Almost. But this... This is unconscionable to a degree I couldn't have even imagined. To fuck my son's mind in order to get to me. My _child_. You people are soulless. You are garbage. Whatever it is I have that you want? I will die to keep it from you, just because you want it."

Vera shook her head.

Cody looked over at her. "I told you," he said.

She nodded.

Cody started climbing up onto the table. "Looks like we have to do this the hard way."

The young chipmunk crawled closer to his father, then rolled over onto his back. He took off his hat and set it aside. He tipped back his head, meeting his father's eyes while exposing his neck. Vera walked over and picked up the lightsaw.

Realization flashed in Parker's eyes. "NO!"

Cody spoke as calmly as he could. They'd already rehearsed this once before but it still made his stomach flutter. "Dad, you have to listen to me."

Parker ignored him. He pulled at his restraints with all his strength. "WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME!?" he bellowed at Vera. "You have my troops! You have my son! Is it information? I don't have any! Nothing that your people wouldn't already know! For the love of everything sacred, do not *do* this!!"

"Dad, look at me," Cody insisted. "I chose this."

Confusion was drilling holes into Parker St. John's head. "What!?"

"It's the only way," Cody said. "You need to listen to me now. Something's about to happen. Something awful and traumatic and bloody and horrible, but I PROMISE YOU that everything will be okay. Allright? I promise you. Me; your son. I promise you with all my heart. You have to believe me. If you don't, if you freak out and scream at Vera and threaten to kill her after it happens, then you'll have proved that you don't trust me. And if it turns out I'm right? Then to make up for you not believing in me, you have to promise to listen to whatever I say afterwards and accept that you might be wrong and I might be right, okay?"

"Don't put me through this, Cody," his father said, starting to weep.

"I have to, Dad. Now promise me."

The man shook his head, fighting to hold in tears. "I can't. I can't watch this."

The lightsaw came on with an insectile hum. The laser blade glowed bright blue.

"I WILL DO ANYTHING!!" he begged Vera. "Whatever you want, just tell me!! Don't fucking make me live through losing him twice!!!"

"I already told you what I want, Dad," Cody said solemnly, looking upside-down at the furson he loved most, watching him having a nervous breakdown.

Parker struggled against his bonds again. He wrenched his wrists against the cuffs so hard they bled.

"I made a promise to you, Dad," Cody said. "You need to remember that."

Vera brought the blue blade closer to the boy's exposed throat.

"ANYTHING!!!" Parker screamed. "KILL ME INSTEAD! SKIN ME ALIVE! JUST LET HIM GO! WHAT PURPOSE DOES THIS SERVE!? WHAT COULD IT POSSIBLY DO FOR YOU TO KILL A CHILD IN FRONT OF HIS FATHER'S EYES!? I'M SITTING RIGHT HERE!!! USE THAT BLADE ON ME, GOD DAMN YOU!!!"

"You're still not listening, Dad," Cody said. He nodded to Vera.

Parker screamed until his vision nearly turned black as the vixen brought the lightsaw down in one swift arc.

The blade flashed brightly as it passed with little effort through Cody's neck.

The boy's eyes snapped open at the not-quite-painful sensation. There was no blood. Cody's head simply rolled sideways, nearly off the table.

Vera caught it in time. She held it up by the hair so Parker could see. "Your boy died trying to get you to listen to him. Maybe you should have," she said regretfully.

Parker had stopped screaming by now.

He was clearly a broken man. He quivered uncontrollably in his chair. His face was blank. His eyes were dead. "You've taken everything from me," he said to Vera.

"Yes," she admitted. "And now I'll give it back." Without a word more she gestured towards the mirrors. The door opened immediately and more Preds swarmed in.

Two of them, a lioness and an elk, both in full uniform, dashed over to the table to scoop up Cody's body. Another, a skinny fox on crutches, hobbled over to the machine with the dome on it and began pushing buttons.

Parker watched all of this without emotion. There was no reason for him to live a single extra second longer, so none of it mattered.

The dome on the big machine opened and the two soldiers placed his son's limp corpse inside. The vixen placed Cody's head atop his cauterized neck.

The dome closed again. The two soldiers left the room. The crippled fox pushed a few more buttons, then departed also.

Vera stood by the closed door and turned to look at Parker. "You should watch," she recommended.

Parker could hardly drag himself away from thoughts of slaughtering her to look at what the machine was doing. Maybe it was an oven. Maybe it was going to turn Cody into a lovely casserole so she could sit at the other end of the table and eat it and destroy every last bit of his mind.

He saw *something* going on inside the machine. Though he couldn't tell what from so far away.

After a minute or so of quietly thrumming, it peeped. Then with a hydraulic hiss, the dome reopened.

Parker's whole body began to tingle at what he thought he saw. It looked like... No.

No, his head couldn't have been...

Cody's eyes opened.

His father's jaw dropped.

"Dad!!" Cody shouted joyfully. He jumped up out of the machine and ran as fast as he could over to his father. As well as he could manage with the chair and restraints in the way, he hugged the older chipmunk. "See!? Look, I'm okay! I'm fine!!"

Parker was breathing in short, gulping bursts. His mind had dealt with too much impossibility too quickly. He thought he might just float out of himself at any second and go away forever.

Cody saw that vacant, loopy look in Dad's eyes and grabbed the man's cheeks roughly. "I said LOOK at me!!"

Those lost eyes slowly turned and focused on his.

"I'm fine," Cody restated. "You know what that means."

Parker didn't think he could control his body enough to form words, but nonetheless a weak, "...No," managed to pass his lips.

Cody touched his forehead to his father's. "It means I kept my promise and you broke yours," he said. "I promised you everything would be okay, and you wouldn't listen. I knew you wouldn't. But it's okay. Because we had to do it this way. I knew that too. Vera made me confront my worst fear, and then when I saw it was nothing to be afraid of at all, everything changed for me. I had to do that for you, too. I knew nothing would scare you more than losing me. And you did. But I'm back and everything's okay now."

His head was still reeling. But his mind was clearing up. This was his son's voice. His son's real, true voice and there was no denying that. Cody did not sound drugged or brainwashed. He sounded as sincere as Parker had ever heard him. He didn't know what the hell to believe anymore.

He looked past his son's shoulders to the fox woman. "If you're really not my enemy like he says, prove it. Unlock these cuffs, at least one of them, so I can hug my son."

She smiled. "I don't have the keys; he does."

Cody pulled them out of his breast pocket and jingled them.

A tiny laugh escaped. Parker looked back at the fox. "That was smart too."

Cody set about unlocking the cuffs. "Don't strangle me, Dad," he warned teasingly. "I know you probably have plenty reason to be pissed at me right now."

"I'd never hurt you," Parker replied instantly. "Not even if you joined the Preds. Not even if you ordered my execution and it was the only way to save my life. I would never hurt you."

He proved his words. As soon as the first cuff was off, he didn't wait for the other. He threw his arm around his son and pulled him close and tight. He fiercely kissed the boy's forehead. His voice was muffled by Cody's hair. "I have no idea what's going on or whether this is even real," he said. "I just know that I love you."

Cody's heart soared. He could feel the tension leave his father's body, replaced by relief. "I love you too. More than anything. You have no idea how much I missed you all this time. I went so crazy missing you. I'm so happy to see you again. I promise I won't blow up this time."

His father gasped a laugh and kissed him several more times.

Cody rested his head on Dad's shoulder and felt the warm tears trace lines down his cheek onto the fabric of their uniforms. "I'll explain everything, Dad. I promise."

"You did promise," Parker acknowledged. "I can admit that. You said everything would be okay and to just trust you... But dammit, Cody, you could not have expected me to think straight in that situation. I nearly ripped my wrist off trying to get out of these cuffs to save you."

That reminded Cody to unlock the other one. There, that was better. A two-armed hug was much nicer. "I never expected you to listen. I knew you couldn't. I knew you had to get shocked before you could. But now you *have* to," Cody insisted. He pulled back to look his father in the eyes. "You owe me now. You've got to at least listen to why I joined the GPA. Why I _chose_ to. My choice; not anything they forced me to do."

Parker nodded. "That's fair. I will listen."

"And that's all we ask of you," Vera said from the other side of the room. She came closer with a tap-tap-tap. "That's all we asked of Cody too. We promised him when we kidnapped him; spend one week here and then we will let you go, whether you decide to join up with us or not."

"You expect me to listen to you for a week!?" Parker sputtered.

"You won't mind, Dad," Cody said with a smile. "This place is really nice. Lots of trees. It's like somewhere you'd take me camping. The food's even good. And they have a pool!"

He chuckled distantly, feeling lightheaded. "I've been captured by the enemy, and you make their P.O.W. camp sound like a resort."

"We try to make it feel like one," Vera said. "And just to reassure you further, none of your men are dead. _None_. The GPA does not kill. Our strategy is to win by recruitment. We picked off your men one by one with our special gas and transported them to another camp just like this one. You'd have been taken there too, but we thought you might prefer staying with Cody."

"I'm supposed to just *believe* you that they're okay?" he asked pointedly.

"Not at all," she replied. "You can video call the other camp whenever you like. We'll even fly you there to meet them if you absolutely insist."

Cody could not help but laugh at the look of confused disbelief on his father's face. "I know that look, Dad. You're thinking, 'It has to be a trick somehow. They'd never let me do that for real; it's bad strategy!' I went through that about a million times myself. Trust me, it's not a trick. When they say they'll do something, they mean it."

Vera's tail wagged just a little. "We want people to join us willingly, even if we have to trick them at first. Afterwards, we try to be as open and honest as we can possibly be to make up for it." She put her hand on her heart. "And please, allow me to personally apologize for the nightmare we've put you through, Mr. St. John. I'm not a mother, but I have been a daughter all my life. So I do have some experience with how much it can hurt when family ties are cut."

Parker nodded in acknowledgement. He had spent his entire life hating Preds, but he had also spent his whole life vigorously doing his best to not be stupid. His hatred wasn't the blind, unthinking bloodlust he saw among some of his comrades. His hate was practical: 'You are a threat. Stay away and there will be no problems. Come towards me, and I will make you regret it.'

He knew Preds were people too. The other side of the Fence was not populated by boogeymen. He understood and empathized with their complaints sometimes. But that didn't mean he wanted the Fences to come down.

He looked Vera in the eye. "You have a long hard road ahead of you if you're going to try and convince me that your side's in the right. But, an apology is a good start."

Relief washed over her like a sunset. "Thank you, Mr. St. John. I can't tell you how much I did not expect to hear you say that."

"I haven't joined your army yet," he warned. "Look me in the eyes and promise me that you will let me and my son walk out of wherever this is if I don't find your arguments convincing enough."

She looked him dead in the eyes. "I will let you walk out of here, with your son, if I fail to convince you."

He nodded. He hadn't seen any guile in her. "Allright then. You get your chance. You tell me your side of things: I listen. No bullshit, no propaganda. If I smell a lie from you, I walk out of the room. Period. I'll stay here a week, but you can't make me spend all of it with my ears open. Fair?"

"Perfectly," she said.

"And I will take you up on your offer to call my men. I want to speak with Colonel Mars and Private Kelly within the hour. At *least*."

She nodded. "I'll tell my colleagues it's top priority, and to pull them away from whatever they're doing, even if they're on the toilet."

"Well, you don't have to go that far," he conceded.

To see even a trace of a smile on his Dad's face was wonderful. "I'm sorry too, that you had to go through all that stuff. They even made sure to promise me that you'd sleep right after I blew up, because I knew you'd kill yourself or somebody else if they left you awake all this time."

"How long has it been?"

"Just since yesterday morning. Not long," Cody reassured. "And I'll explain to you how I did it later. I want to kinda ease into it though, because it has to do with Newbrains and I freaked the fuck out when I first heard about them, so you probably will too."

Parker raised an eyebrow. "Something is going to make me 'freak the fuck out'?"

"Only at first," Cody replied. "But it's the best thing that's ever happened to me, really."

"Whatever you say." He squeezed his son again, trying to remember how many weeks they'd been apart. "Cody... I have to be honest with you though. You know you won't convince me to switch sides."

Cody suddenly broke the hug and stood up. "You promised to listen," he said firmly.

"Yes, I did. And I will. But I know there's nothing you could say that could change my mind. In the same way that you could argue persuasively that gravity makes things fall *up*. But I would still have personal experience proving to me the opposite."

"I know you think that now, but so did I. Are you saying I fell for their line because I'm young and stupid?" he asked, turning the screw a little.

Parker winced. "You know I don't think that. Naive, maybe. I've lived longer than you and seen more. Preds and Prey are not going to forget their differences, now or ever. The bad blood has gone on too long."

Cody crossed his arms dismissively. "Maybe that was true in Grandpa's time, or yours. But things are different now. I never realized how many people are sick of the war and want it over, and all that's really stopping them is *that* attitude. 'Oh, it'll never happen!' Why not, if we all want it!?" he shouted. He took a moment to calm himself. "Dad, if we leave and everything goes back to normal, that means you'll go back to the military and keep on fighting. If you win, the war goes on forever. That's all the victory you can look forward to." He pointed to Vera. "If they win, the killing ends. Which outcome do you think is better?"

Parker was taken aback by the steel in his son's voice. "You've never stood up to me like this before," he marveled.

"I've never had to before."

Parker smiled a little, rather proud that his son was starting to show some independence. And not in the bratty, teenage way. He was acting like a man ought to.

Cody stepped closer again. "You have to keep in mind Dad, that's what this whole head-chopping-off show was for. You were a hundred percent *sure* that you were about to lose me forever just now. But you were wrong. And it wasn't even your fault. You couldn't have known about the Rejuvenator."

"Is that what that thing's called?"

"Yeah. And it also means that if you kill anybody here, they'll just come back pissed off at you," he said with a grin.

Dad laughed. "I'll keep that in mind. And... allright. I think I see your point."

"There was tons of stuff I didn't know before I came here," Cody said. "You taught me to never trust Preds, to keep me safe. I understand that. Just because you were wrong doesn't mean you lied. It's not so awful being wrong."

"It remains to be seen if I *am*," he pointed out.

Cody nodded. "Right. But can you accept that you *might* be? That 'Preds are bad' isn't as clear-cut as 'gravity pulls stuff down'?"

Parker took a deep breath. He looked back and forth between his son and the fox woman, both wearing the same logo on their arm. He couldn't deny that his son had an iron will. He almost felt ashamed for thinking that Cody would have succumbed to brainwashing. He'd been training him from birth to see through bullshit. But... The possibility scared him that he might have fallen prey to it himself. The idea that he'd been wrong his whole life about the Preds... It scared him in multiple ways. There was the simple, base anxiety of being wrong. But that was easy to ignore as the weakness that it was. Beyond that, there was the terror of guilt. He had done... cruel things to Preds throughout his life. He had done them not for the sake of cruelty, but because he believed them necessary. If they had not been, then that meant he had a hell of a lot to atone for.

But a man doesn't look away from his guilt just because it hurts.

He looked his son in the eye. "I can accept that I might be wrong," he said, solemn and soft.

Cody knelt again to hug him. "Thanks, Dad. Thank you. That's more than I expected. You're a lot smarter than I was."

"No," Parker corrected, "not smarter. I've just been through more."

Cody nodded.

His father sighed. "I can also admit that... It would be nice if it were true. If we could just go home. If the war could end. I don't *enjoy* worrying all the time, Cody."

"Trust is an extraordinarily hard thing to build," Vera interjected gently. "Especially among enemies."

Parker gave her a nod of acknowledgement. Then he kissed his son again. "Allright then, you've been their captive for almost a week now. Or is it over a week? How've they treated you?"

Cody grinned. "Just fine. They've even put up with more of my shit than science should be able to explain."

Dad chuckled.

Vera rolled her eyes. "When I tell you some of the things your son did while he'd been here, you are either going to be absolutely horrified or perversely proud of him."

He gave his boy an 'oh really?' face.

Cody nodded sheepishly. "I was kind of a giant prick to everyone for a while. But they forgave me. Which is one of the reasons I believe them when they say they want peace. And yeah, once I got through a bunch of apologies, things've been fine here. Kenny and I went rock climbing the other day. There's a video game and computer room they let us use. I've read some great books. I..." he blushed, "I even found sort of a girlfriend."

A huge 'attaboy' smile lit up Parker's face. And then it suddenly fell flat. "Please tell me she's not a Pred."

"She's a Pred."

A low, injured whimper came from deep in the back of Parker's throat.

Cody grinned apologetically. "I kinda hate her though, which is why I like her so much."

Parker blinked. "You're going to have to explain that to me later. Right now..." He turned to Vera. "I'll understand if you don't trust me for a while. I admit, part of me is still thinking of ways to judo-flip you into a corner and run the hell out of here. But do you mind if I get myself out of these straps? This chair is killing my back."

"Go right ahead then," she said.

He nodded his thanks and started freeing his torso. Cody went to work on his legs. When he was fully unfettered, Parker stood up and gave his spine a good crack. His knuckles too. Then, simply because he could, he hugged his son again.

He looked over at the fox woman standing there not five feet away from him. His instinct still saw her as an enemy combatant. He needed to kill her quickly and get away from this place to keep his son safe. But he pushed that desire down. He would still keep alert, and he would quietly follow up on any suspicions he had while he was here, but he had made a promise to his son that he could not break.

He had been telling the truth when he'd said it would be nice if the war could end. Part of him relished his job, and he supposed he'd always have a need in his blood to fight against *something*. But another part of him was tired. Tired of feeling like his war was pointless, neverending and unwinnable.

He patted his son's head, felt the soft, handsome fur. 'He seems taller than I remember.'

"You'll see, Dad," Cody said, his face pressed to the fabric of his father's Prey army uniform. "You'll see. Like I did. It feels so much better to forgive, and let go, and just all be on the same side together. That's how it's *always* been, really. We just didn't want to admit it.

"Only we can win the war, Dad."




	The End
	...for now










*****
AUTHOR'S NOTES
For starters, some acknowledgements. I know most readers skip these, but this part isn't for you, it's for them. This story went through a record *seven* full proofreadings, and a lot of awesome people contributed to that.

*Cheers to Alfador, typo-finder extraordinare, who read through this behemoth _twice_, giving feedback both constructive and supportive.
*Cheers to Zephon T'sol, my military analyst, who advised me on how to make sure the story's emotions came through clear.
*Cheers to Landon Caragas Fox, whose ideas on truth and introspection were one of this story's inspirations, and whose voice helped me flesh out Walter's.
*Cheers to Kanada, loyal reader, inspiration for Nursecat Kady, who also drew the story's thumbnail logo from the terribly vague description I gave him. ;)
*Cheers to Relee Squirrel, whose enthusiasm for the story awed me, and who spotted several continuity errors before they could become nitpicker bitch fodder.
*Cheers to Robby Rourke, who provided stellar voice acting when he, Kanada, Relee and I (and sometimes Landon) all gathered on Skype to read this huge motherfucker, in its entirety, over the course of many days. Hearing my words spoken out loud helped me tune them to fit more natural rhythms, and it also dredged up a ton of typos.

All of you made this story better than I could have on my own. Thank you so much, my friends.

I'd also like to acknowledge some of this story's inspirations.
-First and foremost is a tiny little thin book called The Children's Story, by James Clavell. It takes place in the days shortly after an unnamed country successfully conquers America. The story is about a class full of children, and how a new teacher from the invading nation is able to undermine their faith in God, country and even their parents in just thirty minutes. James intended this to be chilling, but the problem is, all of the teacher's arguments are rock-solid. His 'bad guy' is inarguably right about a lot of things. And while there were hints in the story that terrible things were happening unseen in the rest of the country, I found myself wondering what it would be like if *everything* the new teacher had said was true. What it would be like if one army went to war with another, not to destroy them, but out of genuine concern and love for them...
-A friend of mine had told me a long time ago to read Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card, but I kept putting it off and putting it off. I finally got around to it while I was 90% finished planning out this story. It's one of the best books I have ever read. EVER. And while I didn't intentionally incorporate anything from it (except one certain name...), its characterization is so skillful it definitely helped me with my own, plus it gave me some inspiration when I was writing strategic-type thoughts for Frank and Cody.
-Speaking of Cody, another inspiration for this was the trillions of cheesy one-man-army action movies Hollywood poops out. Cody, as can be guessed, has seen far too many of them. And he discovers that they make breaking out of a heavily-guarded prison camp look a little too easy.
-Speaking also of Frank, her relationship with Ethan was inspired by the film Animalympics. I loved Kit and Rene's story arc. I loved the idea of competitors getting to know so much about each other through their competition that they start to love each other. (Also, I was halfway done with the story when I first heard ABBA's song Waterloo. The lyrics fit the story's themes so perfectly, and Frank's in particular, that it made my hair stand on end!)
-A lot of Vera's discussions about statistics come from various things I've learned over the years about government, business and religion. But some of it was also inspired by my recent investigations into feminism. I'd been pretty neutral to it before, but once I started digging I was stunned at how many of their major ideas, which have become ingrained in our laws and culture, don't match the reality proven by statistics and behavioral studies. I don't want to get into a rant here, so look up Erin Pizzey or GirlWritesWhat on YouTube if you're interested in the subject.
-The idea of the Newbrains having a 'robot mode' was inspired by the very thoughtful fetish tale The Offer by Android675.
-The idea of the scientist gaining an epiphany from seeing a bad movie was actually inspired by a friend taking me to Sam's Club. At first I was horrified by all the crap a person has to go through there just to save a bit on groceries. But then I stopped to consider: 'Just because it wouldn't be worth it to me doesn't mean it wouldn't be worth it to someone else. We're just different is all.' And from that seed a whole buncha ideas grew.
-The idea of Cody's state of clarity was something I'd always noticed, but the movie Limitless did such an astonishingly perfect job of capturing the feeling that it helped me to capture it too. (Seriously, go see the movie if you haven't. It's far smarter than I ever expected.)
-Also, Jayden Winters might have been a completely different character if I hadn't noticed the first syllable of the name I'd given him, and then gave him a personality based on a certain performance from Jason Mewes...

Lastly, I always like to write my stories as if they're an animated film. And that includes a voice cast. Having a voice in my head for each character helps a lot with dialogue. I just think to myself, 'How would [blank] say this?', and voila. So for War Is Peace, the voices included...

TRESS MACNEILLE -as- VERA DELAMOOR
JIMMY CARR -as- GUY SWANSEA
GEENA DAVIS -as- TINA McNEIL
MOLLY SHANNON -as- GILDA ZERQUETSCHENHÜNDCHEN
DIEDRICH BADER -as- RICK CROSLEY
KARI BYRON -as- KADY LEWIS
GRANT IMAHARA -as- JARED RAVENSFIRE
and
TOM CRUISE -as- PARKER ST. JOHN



"War Is Peace"
Started: 04/26/2012 Finished: 06/05/2012 Editing completed: 07/23/2012